Super Rugby boost for Southern Kings

[beige]

The Southern Kings' place in Super Rugby 2013 was reaffirmed at a Special Council Meeting of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) on Friday.

Proposals on mechanisms to identity the four other South African entrants will be considered at a SARU Special General Meeting on March 30.

"The decision to include the Southern Kings in the 2013 Vodacom Super Rugby tournament was unanimously confirmed by the members," said Jurie Roux, CEO of SARU on Friday.

"We will now look at the options to identify the other entrants to the competition, which will include further discussions with our SANZAR partners on the possibility of including a sixth South African team in the competition.

"The Unions will also be making their own recommendations and the outcome of those discussions and other proposals will be tabled for the Executive Council and ultimately a General Meeting to consider."

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,2...459316,00.html

[palitu]

would have to be a relegation. surely a 6th team is going to be too many for them at the moment?

[jono]

I like the idea of a relegation system. The WAFL needs one for the dockers

[beige]

The South African Rugby Union (SARU) are hopeful that the Super Rugby competition will be extended to include sixteen teams next year.

Having confirmed last week that the Southern Kings would be guaranteed a spot in the competition from 2013, SARU have left themselves in a tricky position in that if the current format remains, they will have to cut one of the five franchises currently taking part.

However, SARU believe that the best way forward is for the number of Super Rugby teams to be expanded.

While the South Africans are hopeful of renegotiating the parameters with their New Zealand and Australian counterparts, they may hit a stumbling block in that the current TV deal - which is structured around having fifteen teams - runs until 2016.

"We've got the five franchises looking at the model, but first prize we are still lobbying our partners, we want to get a sixth franchise in, we believe it will be good for rugby and we don't want to see anybody go down," said SA Rugby deputy president Mark Alexander.

"The last thing we want to do is to make a choice to push one of the franchises out.

"There is a window of opportunity with our partners, we are currently preparing a 16 team schedule so that we can go and debate with them," he added.

Read more: http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,2...469721,00.html

[Burgs]

To run with their hypothetical for a bit (as 3 pools of 6 for 18 is probably better than 3 of 5 for 15 in theory) where do the extra two teams come from?
For some time North Harbour has been the hot tip for a sixth franchise, however, there are also some claims from Taranaki and Bay of Plenty among others.
Australia is a more difficult scene now that the traditional Unions each have a team. The next in order of the capitals would be Adelaide, but too big a stretch I feel. Another option may be a Gold Coast or NSW North Coast manufactured presence.
Possibly a better fit is either an Islander combination or an Argentine beach head alligned with the Tri Nations expansion.

Personally I think the ARU and NZRU may tell the SARU to get knotted for some time, but it is interesting to think where things may go.

[beige]

To run with their hypothetical for a bit (as 3 pools of 6 for 18 is probably better than 3 of 5 for 15 in theory) where do the extra two teams come from?

They're suggesting that the Aus and NZ pools stay as they are and they just add a 6th to theirs. So, assuming we keep the same competition format we'd miss out on playing 2 of their teams each year instead of 1. I imagine they'd have to start their season earlier than the other 2 countries for that to work.

[Burgs]

Humour me

[beige]

If this is what they're planning I think Australia and NZ will sh*t on it from a very great height...

"It seems the South African proposal is based around a simple round-robin format where all teams play each other, meaning 15 games for each side.

"They are also suggesting a return to a four-team finals series to reduce the need to expand the length of the season."

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...201-1qs80.html