Australian rugby boss Bill Pulver has backed a proposal for Australia and New Zealand to form part of a two-conference Super Rugby competition in 2016.
Sport24
According to the stuff.co.nz website, Pulver said the plan, being proposed as a way of accommodating South Africa’s demand for a permanent sixth team, was discussed at an Australian Rugby Union board meeting on Tuesday. ”The current (three-conference) model is acceptable but the other option is not a bad outcome for us either,” he said. ”Both are workable from an Australian perspective … If it did evolve to an Australasian conference that would be a good option.”
The chairmen and chief executives of the SANZAR nations are meeting in Sydney next week to discuss what form the Super Rugby competition will take when the new broadcasting deal takes effect from 2016.
The South African Rugby Union’s demand that both the Kings and Lions form a permanent part of the competition cannot be accommodated within the existing three-conference model. There is also momentum gathering for Argentina to join Super Rugby, with former Pumas captain and UAR board member Agustin Pichot telling South African media his country’s entry at provincial level was vital.
Both could be achieved under a two-conference model. Under one possibility South Africa and potentially Argentina would form one conference and New Zealand and Australia the other. The top eight or so sides across the conferences would then meet in a finals series.
The ARU is understood to see merit in any model that would cut travel for players and result in more Australia-New Zealand matches, which attract higher broadcast ratings and gate-takings at matches.
”The outcomes we’re looking for are to optimise the financial benefit from a broadcasting perspective, we’re looking to protect player welfare and we also want to excite and engage our fans with the right competition structures,” Pulver said. ”And if we’re looking at a cost perspective then the amount of travel the Australian teams do are clearly relevant to that.”
SANZAR wants to have a format agreed by Christmas. It will also be influenced by a push to move the mid-year Test window from June to July and have Super Rugby wrapped up before then. Argentina, now part of the Rugby Championship, will also be represented at next week’s meeting. Pichot will weigh in via telephone and is a vocal supporter of a Super Rugby expansion plan that makes room for an Argentinian team.
Their inclusion was backed this week by New Zealand Rugby Union chief Steve Tew, who also signalled the addition of a Japanese or other Asian team. ”If we are going to expand then there’s probably room for expansion in more territories than just Argentina,” he said.
Bloody ARU, they think they can ban together with New Zealand in a bid to weaken South African rugby and eventual opposition.
I hope SARU stands firm and demands a level playing field… more so we demand that they do and achieve it.
The time is past where we say “Sorry for living or imposing”!
Vark-ing ARU!
”And if we’re looking at a cost perspective then the amount of travel the Australian teams do are clearly relevant to that.” SA teams are over there for 4 weeks, they are only in SA for 2! And it’s not like the Rand is in good shape, so the Aus and NZ dollar should be able to get them more than it does u!
You know what, to hell with SR!
Start the SA rugby season with a club comp including clubs and varsity games (Tuks vs Hamiltons, Potch vs Collegians etc.), then play an extended 8 team Currie cup, with current 6 plus Pumas and Kings.
Players will be well rested, stadiums for a full strength Blou Bulle-WP game will fill up like in the old days, and the aussie teams can get CLAPPED by the kiwi teams year in and year out for all I care.
Does any really expect SARU to do the RIGHT thing for SA Ruby.
I’m sure they’ll just bend over and take one “down under”, “for the team” from the lot “down under”.
O yeah, and to prove they’re diligent, they won’t use any lubricant.
@ Greenpoint-Gunner:
Agree 100%!!!
Club competitions and Currie Cup, like in the old days, as you say. And then short international tours.
Stuff SR.
But, again, SARU will do just the opposite…
SA must go where the money is. Argentina don’t have money. Oz and NZ don’t have real money either. France, Japan, US and UK do have money. This makes the choice much simpler.
Ever heard of the goose that lays the golden egg? In this case, the goose is rugby. Good, old fashioned, provincialism engrained, hard hitting, shake-hands afterwards, Vaseline on your poep-all (if you’re from the coast), brandy-coke and biltong Rugby.
Im PRETTY sure that if we stick to clubs and CC only, we can fill out Greenpoint when, for example, Maties play UCT in the finals.
But expect SARU to understand. HA!
We must never ever accept a two conference split ever. How can they expect us to play the whole season with ourselves and two Arg teams? Really that is a smack in our face. Do they really think we that daft? NO WAY, we will not accept that and if Saru do they are more daft than I thought. We have to find a way to stay with our sh partners. Our rugby is strong because the 3 of us have been playing together for years now. I certainly do not want us to stop playing rugby against the kiwi sides especially. However, if they want to split from us and expect us to only play with Arg then we have no choice but to seriously think of going north. As our rugby will go backwards if we only play with Arg and ourselves for 4 months and only a play-off game against Oz or Nz side. Then if we make it to the semi and final another 2 games. That is clearly not enough games we want to play with them. We want to be contesting far more against the best.
So if they do accept this we are left on this side playing in the inferior side for most of the season while Oz and Nz are in the superior side! We will not be ready to play them in a play-off ever. We will get drilled stupid. If that is what they want there is only one way for us to go and that is north.
I personally do not want us to split really do want us to stick and play here in the sh. So do hope they work something out that is better for all 3 of our countries rugby. Less travel and less rugby for our players is the way forward. Two pools might work. I prefer a 1st and 2nd division of 10 sides in each side. Strength against strength is what I want to see.
Saru must not mess this up. They have to think of the players and should be asking them and just as important should be asking the rugby SUPPORTER what they want. It is after all us that make this tourney work. Again it is the supporters that go to the stadiums and the supporters that turn our tv on and watch the games. They need to think careful before they agree to anything that Oz want. AS I think the whole thing is more about Oz.
From a pure rugby perspective, a pool system similar to the European Cup would be perfect. You can have a lot of smaller pools and increase the number of teams playing in the competition. But the Aussie will whinge because it will reduce the derby aspect of the current system
What really annoys me is that Australia more than ever should never have been given a 5th team. They do not have enough players for each of those unions. The Force from next year will have 7 South Africans in their side. Now how the hell could they have been awarded a 5th team? The mind boggles. WE should have had the Kings in way, way before Melbourne had a team. WE have enough players right here to have 6 teams. Sure we might not be the strongest because of that, but we don’t go overseas to buy 7 players to have enough for our squad. Well if we distributed our players around evenly we would have enough players in each Franchise to make all our teams strong.
It is also because Oz never had a domestic tourney that the SR now goes into August. South Africa and New Zealand allowed that to happen. WE helped Oz grow their rugby and let our CC and ITM cup become what it is. That is a damn shame. Oz seriously need to get their own domestic cup somehow.
Just do hope that Saru don’t this time mess it up for our SR. If we only play Arg for most of the season I personally will not be interested. SR will lose the interest of just about all SA rugby supporters. We want to see our teams playing the best.
8 @ Lion4ever:
Oz will always want the home and away derby games. We here in SA and in NZ don’t want that. We have our CC and they have their ITM Cup for home and away derby games. That is what has killed the SR interest in many as well. If Oz want that then why not after SR has finished play their home teams again once. Add the points they picked up in SR and carry the points forward to the new Cup they play for. That way they would have another 4 weeks of rugby in Perth, Melbourne, Canberra. As once the SR is over there is NO rugby there in those cities at all. Only RC if they get a Test. They need to get their own domestic cup up and running again and make it work this time. If they done that we would not have to have such a long, long tourney. We could go back to the old format even with SA having 6 teams. Well thinking that about 28 of those SR players are out with their Wallabies those other teams might not have enough players now to carrying on with a domestic tourney.
I blame this whole mess on Australia. They needed more teams to keep their rugby public interested and for a longer duration than the SR was initially. They don’t even have enough players to fill those teams squads… 🙄
@ Puma:
Puma, you’re preaching to the converted. If it was not for SA and NZ, Aus rugby would be in a lot of trouble. And one thing you did not mention is JW trying to lure up and coming youngster from SA to Canberra University, so that he can have better resources for the Brumbies. But if the Aussies get themselves a proper domestic league going, they will grow the game. What did they do before Super Rugby? Surely they must have some form of domestic rugby? Why don’t they try to revive that again?
11 @ Lion4ever:
I think they tried to have domestic rugby and it never worked. This time I think it would work if they just carried on after SR. They could after SR is over play each other twice home and away again if they wanted or once. Also take the points from SR and combine it with the points they pick up in their domestic Cup. They should look into that because of the points carried over from SR it would make it more attractive for them to have a domestic cup that works. Well think it will.
They need to think of something to get a domestic cup going, as that is what has caused us to go from the old format to this nonsense format we play now in SR, it was to allow Oz to have a longer rugby comp going there. To keep their supporters interested in rugby union, as rugby union is not their 1st sport there, think it is their 4th sport there. It has ruined SR to be honest. SR is just way too long now and one eventually gets bored with it as well. Need it to be shorter and strength against strength. Make it a 1st and 2nd division. 10 teams in each division could work.
11 @ Lion4ever:
Just think of it. This weekend in Australia there is no rugby union game being played there at all. If they had a domestic cup they could be watching that. Here in SA we are going to be watching 3 games of Currie Cup. The kiwis will be watching their ITM Cup. The Aussies have nothing to watch unles they tune into Fox and watch our Currie Cup as it is shown there or the NZ ITM Cup.
It is imperitive that Australia get a domestic cup going if they want to keep the interest of their supporters watching rugby union. They should not rely on SA and NZ to intertain them for a longer SR just to keep their supporters interested. This is where the mess up has come from. It is all Oz here as I can see it. I doubt very much that NZ will not want to play us in SR for the whole season and only in the play-offs. I think they too would miss the saffa sides in SR. It will not work if they go that route not at all and especially not here for us in SA. We need to play the best in the world not only for 3 games. Otherwise as much as we don’t want to go north we will have to if it becomes a two way split in SR and we are only left with Arg to play.
I personally would miss us playing the kiwi sides more than anything else.
13 @ Puma:
unles = unless
13 @ Puma:
typos all over the show as usual from me.
meant = imperative
All I can say is SARU needed me to do the SANZAR negotiations for them, fark we would have gotten a royal deal!
16 @ grootblousmile:
hahahaha. Probably would have get a far better deal than we gonna get.
@ Puma:
Well at least SARU is showing some form of having kahunas, because they have insisted on having 6 teams. If I was in the shoes of Hoskins and Roux, I would have put a proposal forward that would have suited SA, but at the same time made the Aussies think that they have a great deal. That’s what I would have employed GBS for.
18 @ Lion4ever:
Etzakkerly!
I can sell Ice to an Eskimo… or send the Ausies to hell and they would have been looking forward to the trip!
@ grootblousmile:
@ Lion4ever:
Yip, we need a street lawyer from the Panne to negotiate with those beer guzzlers down under, one who puffs on Camel Plain with nicotine stained fingers and drinks condensed milk at the cocktail party afterwards, not one of those fancy backslapping Gucci type LLB fags.
20 @ Pietman:
Hehehe
Hey, ek is nogal “refined”, ek rook Camel Full Flavour (Camel Mild) – harde pakkie, nie sagte pakkie nie… en die goed het darem filters en my vingers issie geel nie!
… oor die kondensmelk kan ek egter nie stry nie… hehehe
Kyk, ek sal hulle so deur die ore werk, dat hulle nie weet waaaar hulle is na ek met hulle klaar is nie!
20 @ Pietman:
Bwaaahahahaha…… Brilliant!
19 @ grootblousmile:
Still having a chuckle at Piets post and remarks about our “Panne Street Lawyer” … hahaha.
Here is our street lawyer. Gbs from the Panne >>>>>>>>>>>
.. 
23 @ Puma:
Just away to put up an article, catch up soon.
Hello Puma you guys are really amusing, but actually a more apt description may be a street lawyer turned computer mechanic (albeit a damn good one)
@ Pietman:
Dit is nou die waaaaarste beskrywing van ou GBS wat ek al gehoor het, hahahahaha
25 @ Tripples:
Grrrrrr
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