What we learned from Super Rugby in 2019

Another Super Rugby season is over and once again the Crusaders are crowned champions. As eyes turn to the Rugby Championship and the World Cup, here are some things we learned from the 21-week season featuring teams from New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, South Africa and Japan.

ROBERTSON'S MOVES

Scott Robertson can coach ... but dance? — Robertson has made a strong case for inclusion in any coaching group which takes over when New Zealand All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen steps down after the World Cup. Robertson has guided the Christchurch-based Crusaders to the Super Rugby title in each of his three years in charge. He has celebrated each of those victories by break-dancing on the pitch ... which only goes to show he's better at planning moves than busting them. Robertson also won three Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders as a player. The 44-year-old Robertson breaks the mold of New Zealand coaches who are often poker-faced and taciturn. A surfer with a mane of blonde hair, Robertson lets his emotions hang out in the coaching box. The next All Blacks coach? Maybe. The next winner of Dancing With the Stars? Not likely.

Crusaders coach Scott Robertson performs a break-dance as celebrates his team's 19-3 win in the Super Rugby final between the Crusaders and the Jaguares in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, July 6, 2019. (AP PhotoMark Baker)

JAGUARES LOCKED IN

Argentina's Jaguares showed this season they belong in Super Rugby. They struggled in their first three years to cope with the tournament's unique travel demands, and with injuries. But under new coach Gonzalo Quesada they developed an efficient and enterprising style which carried them to the final for the first time. Quesada said the Jaguares should be proud of their achievements, and the 19-3 loss in the final was not a reflection of the difference between the two teams. The critics say the Jaguares are more-or-less a national team playing in a provincial competition, but it would be impossible for Argentina to sustain a Super Rugby team if it couldn't call on its best players. The Jaguares made several breakthroughs this season, winning away from home regularly, achieving a 4-0 record against Australian franchises and hosting matches in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

RUGBY DOWN UNDER

Crusaders Richie Mo'unga takes a penalty shot at goal during the Super Rugby final between the Crusaders and the Jaguares in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, July 6, 2019. (AP PhotoMark Baker)

Super Rugby took the temperature of Australian rugby and found it not in the best of health. Again, only one Australian team — the Canberra-based Brumbies — qualified for the playoffs. The other three franchises didn't make the top 10. The Melbourne Rebels placed 11th, the New South Wales Waratahs 12th and the Queensland Reds were 14th. That follows an international season in which the Wallabies lost nine tests. And there's no reason for optimism that these are short-term problems. Rugby's administration in Australia seems bereft of ideas. Inattention to player development means there doesn't seem to be a pipeline of new talent. Meanwhile, the other football codes in Australia continue to grow and prosper, squeezing rugby's television ratings and its sponsorships.

OH, TMO

TMO = Too Much Officiating. The interventions by Television Match Officials in decision-making, often without being called on and frequently to no good purpose — have been one of the hot talking points of the season. TMOs are meant to be heard from only when the on-field referee and assistants need help to reach a decision, most-often in determining whether a try has been scored. But this season TMOs just couldn't keep out of the conversation. Their interjections were constant. Fans despaired as scoring plays were too frequently subjected to minute and unnecessary review. To make matters worse, the TMOs were prone to making errors.

Crusaders Codie Taylor dives across the line to score a try as teammate George Bridge is airborne above him during the Super Rugby final between the Crusaders and the Jaguares in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, July 6, 2019. (AP PhotoMark Baker)

WORLD CUP TIME

As an appetizer to this year's World Cup, the Super Rugby was just right — not too overpowering, just enough to whet the palate. As hopes of a global season fade, Super Rugby remains the best provincial rugby competition in the world, graced by many of the world's best players. Super Rugby is unique among all sporting competitions — played over 18 conference rounds — before playoffs — across four continents and almost a dozen time zones. Now to see players like Matias Orlando, Emiliano Boffelli, Pablo Matera, Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Cheslin Kolbe, Siya Kolisi, Marika Koroibete, Will Genia, Yu Tamura and Kotaro Matsushima in action at the World Cup.

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Jaguares Matias Moroni leaps over Crusaders Mitchell Drummond during the Super Rugby final between the Crusaders and the Jaguares in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, July 6, 2019. (AP PhotoMark Baker)

Jaguares Agustin Creevy reacts during the Super Rugby final between the Crusaders and the Jaguares in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, July 6, 2019. (AP PhotoMark Baker)

Ryan Crotty, right, is held aloft by teammates as he celebrates their 19-3 win over the Jaguares to win the Super Rugby final in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, July 6, 2019. (AP PhotoMark Baker)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Matt Kuchar couldn’t imagine a better ending to a year when he lost his father than to finally win the PNC Championship with his son. There was no stopping them Sunday in a record-smashing performance that led to an 18-under 54 and a whopping seven-shot victory.

The tournament that is all about family and fun ended with Kuchar wiping away tears as his voice cracked while speaking about how much it meant without his father, who died in February.

Cameron Kuchar, who was able to use one tee box forward as a high school student, hammered another drive and watched his father hit 7-iron to 18 inches. Kuchar gave his son the honor of tapping in for the final touch on an unforgettable week for the Kuchar family.

Peter Kuchar died in February of a heart attack while swimming when he was on a Caribbean cruise with his wife, Meg, to celebrate her birthday.

The PNC Championship, which began in 1995 as the Father-Son Challenge, is for major champions and their children. It has been expanded over the years to include The Players Championship winners, senior and LPGA major champions. Players have brought parents or daughters.

The Kuchars finished at 33-under 111 to break the tournament record by five shots. Lee Trevino delivered the highlight when the 86-year-old holed out from the fairway with a lob wedge for eagle on the 13th hole.

BEL OMBRE, Mauritius (AP) — Jayden Schaper made it back-to-back titles by winning the Mauritius Open in a playoff over Ryan Gerard, the American who flew across two oceans for the final event of the year and returns home with an invitation to the Masters.

Schaper birdied three of his last four holes for an 8-under 64, and then chipped in for eagle to win on the second playoff hole. He won last week in the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa by making eagle in a playoff.

Gerard was No. 57 in the world — the Masters awards invitations to the top 50 in the final world ranking of the year — and needed to finish in the top four to have any chance to get into the Masters, he had a 63-66 weekend and got into a playoff with Shaper, which secured his spot at Augusta National in April.

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FILE - Ryan Gerard hits from the ninth tee during the first round of the BMW Championship golf tournament, Aug. 14, 2025, in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, file)

Matt Kuchar, right, and his son Cameron Kuchar hold the championship belts after winning the PNC Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Matt Kuchar, right, gets a fist bump from his son Cameron Kuchar after sinking an eagle putt on the third green during the final round of the PNC Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)