I just finished watching the last of the matches from the first round of super rugby. One thing stuck out and that was the speed and flow of the game as compared to northern hemisphere rugby. How long till the north starts to play this style. It seems the club closest to this style are the Saracens. And even though the Saracens are my favorite team I'm stuck thinking they would have at least 3 new Zealand teams beating them in a neutral site match.

Wasps are the closest to a Super Rugby style team and I say that a Sarries supporter. Never forget the playing conditions are quite different in a European winter though so that is a big influence.

Probably the closest in terms of Franchise Rugby too ..... and proving the financial turn around is possible if managed properly.
And with a coach that should be with Wales. (imho)

I'm still a bit mystified by the magical financial turnaround at Wasps and wish a few more teams could discover the same formula! Happy for them though and especially for Dai Young who's out of the top drawer.

So where do you guys think the wasps, sarries, or even toulon/racing would rank if they played in super rugby? I think they would do fine against the non new zealand teams but I suspect they would struggle mightily against the hurricanes and chiefs for sure, probably the crusaders and maybe even the highlanders.

I think the European teams would win at home and lose away - assuming everything else was equal. But NZ would have a better aggregate score over two legs partly because their best (domestic) players are concentrated into fewer teams

For me there is a few teams too many in Super Rugby competition. The problem is mainly Australia that doesn't have a strong domestic competition outside Super Rugby like RSA and NZ does. And the stupid rule that at least one team from each country should go through to playoffs again favours Australia who struggle to make up the points to qualify outright with the exception of maybe the Brumbies. It would be even better if they make it a two tier competition - that way high standards will be maintained even if that means the top tier has more NZ teams. Promoting and demotion at the end of the season.

I agree the bottom of super rugby is below the bottom of the top tier northern. Do you think any northern club would be favored over the top 2-4 NZ sides?

I can see the likes of Wasps and Sarries competing against the best of the Southern Hemisphere but challenging for the top spots even against the best of the Aussie teams like the Brumbies and Tahs imho
Factoring in the travel and overall cost I can't see it happening unless the RFU gets bank rolled by a long lost sugar daddy

Well the deal on the Ricoh made a huge difference - the value of the stadium doubled overnight with them buying it, as suddenly there were a lot more games going on. And then the success of the bond that allowed them to pay for it...
But above that, they have been very astute. Free tickets to schools brought in a lot of new fans. Tickets aren't particularly dear anyway. The Fan Zone gives people quite a lot to do. Links with local businesses have been very successful - they've put a huge amount of effort into connecting with the community in Coventry and Warwickshire on many levels. All sensible investments.