Australian Super Rugby teams to be limited to three import players
Rugby Australia is likely to set a limit of three foreigners per team as it seeks to bolster the credibility of its five Australian franchises.
Rugby Australia is likely to put a limit of three foreign players per team next season as it seeks to bolster the credibility of its five Australian franchises heading into operational talks with New Zealand Rugby this week over a trans-Tasman competition.
NZR on Friday released a broad outline of its planned Super Rugby competition for next season, indicating it would involve between eight and 10 teams overall, including between two and four Australian sides, plus a Pasifika team. But there is next to no appetite within RA for culling existing sides, which officials believe would send the game backwards.
While they already have four Super Rugby sides – the Waratahs, Reds, Brumbies and Rebels – the Andrew Forrest-backed Western Force has been brought into this year’s Australian-only Super Rugby AU competition and as far as RA chairman Hamish McLennan is concerned, the Force is now here to stay.
“I see the Force as a big part of our future and the smartest thing to do is to establish a competition between Australia and NZ while we come to grips with the Covid crisis and I would look to bring others in 2022,” McLennan said.
The Pasifika side could not be assembled hurriedly and there is even conjecture over whether it should be based in Auckland, where it could severely impact on the Blues’ fan base, or in western Sydney, which boasts Australia’s largest islander population. The belief is that setting up a successful Pasifika team in western Sydney would play a huge role in reversing or at least slowing the number of kids switching to rugby league.
New Zealand has understandable concerns about the player depth within Australia but RA will argue that three foreign players per team – effectively a full team of foreigners spread across the five franchises – would improve the credibility of all sides as well as heightening fan engagement.
Incoming Wallabies coach Dave Rennie, a Kiwi, was unsure on Sunday whether NZ officials would allow New Zealand players to turn out for Australian clubs yet still be eligible for All Black selection.
“History says no,” Rennie told The Australian. “Basically if you are not playing in New Zealand, you can’t be an All Black so I’m not sure if they would alter that stance. We have also talked about this, if we get a Wallaby playing for a NZ side and we’re playing against each other week in, week out, you’re comparing apples with apples. I would see that as positive but I’m not sure what NZ’s view on it would be.”
The NZR announcement effectively terminated the involvement of South Africa and Argentina in Super Rugby and RA interim CEO Rob Clarke has reached out to his SA counterpart, Juri Roux, and Argentinian rugby strongman Gus Pichot to reassure them of support.
The Pumas appear to be deserting in droves to French clubs but reports that SA rugby could relocate its interests to the northern hemisphere appear to be wildly incorrect. SA rugby could take the form of a beefed-up Currie Cup but it is understood that private equity fund CVC could be pursuing the Springboks as it has done the Six Nations and the Premiership in England.
Private equity is set to also play a huge role in Australian rugby in the future, with Silver Lake and US fund Providence both circling the game, but there is little doubt that the most highly valued competition would involve five teams each from Australia and NZ. In that way, administrators from both nations would be able to alleviate their funding issues without needing to sell the farm.
There are a lot of “ifs’ in RA plans but officials also believe massive opportunities are starting to open up. If they are able to secure the Super Rugby competition format they are hoping for, plus a private equity deal and a reasonable deal with broadcasters – who also have stipulated they see a trans-Tasman series as the only viable option – then it could be that rugby gets back in the game.
Understandably, RA does not want to go through the same turmoil it experienced in 2017 when it culled the Force from Super Rugby. The Rebels were the other team facing the axe then but, with McLennan now committed to Forrest and the Perth club, Melbourne would be prime targets if RA decided to revisit dumping a team.
But that won’t happen, for a variety of reasons. Not least is the massive support the Victorian government gives to rugby and the important role it would play in a 2027 World Cup in Australia.
Given that NSW and Queensland are “untouchable”, that only leaves the Brumbies which are understood to be at the top of the list of Australian teams wanted by New Zealand.
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