Anyone who loves Super Rugby owes a debt of gratitude to the late, great Jonah Lomu.

For it was he who inspired media baron Rupert Murdoch to stump up $555-million for the rights to southern hemisphere rugby.

“Get me that man,” Murdoch is reputed to have told one of his lieutenants after watching Lomu destroy England in the World Cup semifinal in Cape Town in 1995.

And here we are, about to celebrate a quarter-century of Vodacom Super Rugby, a tournament that has produced great drama, endless entertainment and a clutch of world superstars. It has its critics, but it remains relevant and fun and is incomparable as a rugby spectacle.

Lomu is no longer with us, but the narrative during the past 24 seasons has seldom strayed from New Zealand dominance. Seventeen of the 24 titles have been won by teams from there, with just three South African successes over the years, all by the Bulls. Incredibly, the Sharks played four finals and lost each one, including the first, in 1996.

Although the Lions have played in three of the past four finals, you must go back 10 years to find the last SA winner. It’s a bleak picture.

Ironically, there will be many expecting SA teams to set the pace when the grand jamboree kicks off again next weekend. That’s what happens when you win the World Cup; you become the leading light.

A wave of Springboks took up lucrative overseas deals in the off-season, so several of our teams look thin in terms of experience. Yet on the evidence of pre-season action last weekend South Africa’s conveyor belt of talent remains in fine working order. There were bright green shoots everywhere as new players injected fizz and energy into the action.

Three of SA’s four teams have new coaches on board and, whether by accident or design, they all appear determined to unshackle their teams.

The Stormers pack is going to hammer a couple of teams this year, but it is the combination of nine and 10 (Herschel Jantjies and Damien Willemse) that could give rickety old Newlands the farewell it deserves. Plus John Dobson is a smart coach.

Closer to home, if the Sharks forwards can slug it out from week to week, they could unleash potentially the most potent backline in the competition. There will be wobbles, but the Sharks are going to score some cracking tries this season.

The Lions, possessing just a single World Cup Bok in Elton Jantjies, will be young and fun and will run all day under the watch of fitness-minded Ivan van Rooyen. Intriguingly, they also have a “collisions” coach, which could prove an inspired innovation.

Having rummaged around the back of the cupboard, the Bulls pulled out a couple of veterans in Josh Strauss (33), Juandre Kruger (34) and Morné Steyn (35). Whether they can get the job done depends on their levels of motivation, but their mentoring may be even more important given the Bulls lost seven Boks in the off-season.

The format is due for change from next season, but for now the structure and shape of the tournament will have a familiar feel. Less familiar is the energy around the SA game being vibrant and positive, a welcome addition to whatever else our teams bring to Super Rugby’s eclectic – and electric – tribal gathering. – © Sunday Tribune