NRC 2016 and beyond: Is four NSW NRC sides too many?
By Sam Ryan
Whether or not a NSW NRC side ends up making this year's finals, the gap between the Super Rugby aligned franchises and the rest of the competition has become obvious during the 2015 National Rugby Championship.
Brisbane City and the UC Vikings will meet to play for the minor premiership this weekend and have been the standout sides all season. Behind them, Melbourne and Perth have been less impressive but are still in with a shot of making the finals despite heavily disrupted seasons to date.
And then there's the rest...
Although the Sydney Stars and NSW Country are both currently in the top four, they'll need to finish the season strongly if they are to limp into the finals.
QLD Country have again fallen victim to the Reds uneven distribution of talent, whist the Greater Sydney Rams and the North Harbour Rays both can't wait for summer.
So that leaves one question. Is four NSW teams too many?
Sure the Sydney club competition is arguably the strongest in Australia