Australia’s desire for a trans-Tasman rugby competition not shared by New Zealand, says ex-SANZAAR boss

IT is floated by many as the model to save Australian rugby but the former SANZAAR boss says a trans-Tasman competition would be unlikely to happen due to New Zealand’s history with South Africa.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 08: Sonny Bill Williams of the All Blacks passes during The Rugby Championship match between the Australia Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks at ANZ Stadium on August 8, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

IT is floated by many as the model to save Australian rugby but a trans-Tasman competition with Kiwi teams would be unlikely to get off the ground due to New Zealand’s “strong allegiance” to South Africa.

That’s the view of former SANZAR boss Greg Peters, the New Zealand administrator who oversaw Super Rugby’s growth to the unpopular 18-team model.

SANZAAR will hold a critical board meeting next week in Dublin to decide on the future of Super Rugby, following an urgent strategic review.

The joint venture partners potentially decide on a new model for 2018; with options including Australia losing a team in a contracted competition or a restructure of the 18 teams and conferences.

The ARU are keeping their cards close to the chest but many in Australia are arguing for them to keep five teams, including RUPA and former ARU boss John O’Neill.

O’Neill called for the ARU to fight for Australia’s best interests, and to push for new teams Argentina, Japan and a sixth African to be axed.

O’Neill, RUPA and many Australian stakeholders have also called for the ARU to pursue a future based on a trans-Tasman structure, either by excluding South Africa altogether or by only playing the African teams and Argentina in a Super Rugby finals series.

But Peters, who spent last year as a consultant to the UAR but is now back in New Zealand, said there was no appetite in New Zealand to cut South Africa adrift.

New Zealand will keep the interests of the All Blacks staying number one at the core of their decision-making.

“There is a very strong allegiance and desire to keep South Africa in the loop,” he said.

“History goes there and tradition goes there, before even the Rugby Championship and the Tri Nations.

“There is so much history between the three countries, obviously, but particularly between New Zealand and South Africa. There is a strong desire to hold onto that and for them to be a full part of the competition.”

Even a split Super Rugby wouldn’t be appealing, Peters believes.

“If you leave South Africa or you set up conferences and leave South Africa on one side, they are basically playing another round of Currie Cup unless they can find someone else,” Peters said.

“That’s not going to work for them. If they only met in the finals, then that doesn’t probably keep them in the fold in the way that is currently the case.”

The quality competition South Africa can supply will mean New Zealand won’t want to exclude them.

New Zealand are not financially stable either but their main motivation is to do whatever makes the All Blacks strong, and Kiwi powerbroker believe South African rivals are critical to that end.

With connections to parties who’ll be present in the SANZAAR board room, Peters declined to offer a personal view on how Super Rugby should look next year.

Privately, O’Neill’s comments last week stuck a chord in rugby circles, with many saying Australia should not sacrifice a team while Japan and Argentina are protected simply to help grow rugby in expansion markets.

Peters argued both Japan and Argentina were worth keeping.

Though Japan got flogged by the Hurricanes in round one, Peters pointed to the Tokyo crowd being the second highest of the round.

“I think they had the best viewership of any game on television last year because they have free to air coverage, too,” Peters said.

The ARU are being encouraged to fight to keep all five Super Rugby teams.

Peters said the addition of Argentina to Super Rugby had allowed star players to leave Europe and return home, which not only gave them the best opportunity for success at provincial and Test level, but built an aspirational pathway for young kids.

If a place in Super Rugby evaporated, Peters said he doubted whether Argentina could continue in the Rugby Championship either.

“Certainly it would be under review, I would have thought,” he said.

“Super Rugby is a really important development pathway and I think going forward, if we hadn’t have been able to get into Super Rugby or a professional club competition, participation in the Rugby Championship might have been in doubt as well because it was too much of an ask on players to play all year around and manage their welfare.”

The potential for a stalemate at the SANZAAR board room is high, which could leave the competition with 18 teams through to 2020 at least. Peters said if that happened it would be crucial to communicate with fans better to stop them walking away.

Originally published as Australia’s desire for a trans-Tasman rugby competition not shared by New Zealand, says ex-SANZAAR boss