Waratahs powerbroker calls for a trans-Tasman future ahead of key Super Rugby meeting
RUGBY Australia must push for a majority of Super Rugby games to be between Australian and New Zealand teams in the future, according to NSW Rugby chairman Roger Davis.
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RUGBY Australia should push for a majority of Super Rugby games to be between Australian and New Zealand teams in the next broadcast deal, according to NSW Rugby chairman Roger Davis.
Davis’ recommendation comes after reports South Africa are contemplating moving more teams to Europe and ahead of a key meeting between Aussie rugby powerbrokers on Wednesday about the future of Super Rugby in this country.
It understands RA boss Raelene Castle and the four chief executives of Australia’s Super Rugby teams will meet with Nielsen consultant Michael Tange in Sydney, with the purpose of putting forward their ideas and preferred strategies to best serve Australian rugby in the future.
SANZAAR boss Andy Marinos is also set to be involved.
The SANZAAR board will meet later this month in London — in side meetings to World Rugby business — and the agenda will be focused on what competition model should be used for Super Rugby beyond 2020.
A “blue sky” strategy paper has been drafted for the debate with many options, including contraction, expansion and new models.
But Rugby Australia, like the other member unions, are conducting their own review as well.
Tange has been meeting with all stakeholders to gauge the best options for Australian rugby, which many argue were not pursued aggressively enough when Super Rugby expanded prior to the last broadcast deal in 2015.
Like many parties, Davis said he favoured a trans-Tasman competition model but he doesn’t want to lose South Africa entirely.
“Our best interests would be to just play against New Zealand, including Japan. It would build the crowds, everyone knows who they are, all in the right time zones, travel less, etc etc,” Davis said.
“But then what do you do after that? I think the cost of losing South Africa altogether would be too great.
“Do you then play South Africa’s conference leaders?
“I grew up with South Africa being the benchmarks of the southern hemisphere. I would hate to see them gone entirely. I would like to see playoffs across the various conferences.
“They will argue that’s just the Currie Cup and the temptation to go up to Europe will become compelling, even if you had a playoff.
“I don’t believe in US conference stuff. That would be a weak competition.”
New Zealand have repeatedly rebuffed Australia’s attempts to start a trans-Tasman comp, but South Africa’s increasing links to the Pro 14 may bring them back to the table, however reluctantly.
Sharks CEO Gary Teichmann shot down talk of his team moving to Europe but it is understood the SARU board are mapping the movement of more provincial sides to Pro 14, which would give them the option of moving big outfits like the Stormers, Lions and Sharks up in 2021.
Davis said the outcome Castle and RA vice-president Brett Robinson have to push for at the SANZAAR meeting is a competition model that can engage fans and wash its own face financially.
“The key drivers of success of any new competition is going to be quality of that competition. The players and the spectators want a meaningful competition, against good quality sides,” Davis said.
“It has to be economic. At the moment, a lot of the games we play aren’t, and not having a strong economic platform for your games is a death-knell.
“Because you just can’t support community rugby and the game basically falls apart. It is costing an enormous amount of money at the moment to support Super Rugby in this country, and in the other countries. You talk to other CEOs and chairman, certainly in New Zealand, and they say unless we get a home playoff, we don’t make any money for the year.
“That’s a pretty damning indictment on the economics of the competition.”