SANZAR Meeting

[beige]

From some Twitter posts it appears that news is starting to be leaked via South Africa with Cheetahs boss claiming his team are safe as the comp will be reduced to 16 teams, as yesterday it looked like they may also be on the chopping block.

Reading into that it is going to be one SA and one AUS team, but surely 16 with 5 teams in two countries still remains unwiedely.

It also appears that ARU currently talking with our franchises today so decision may be imminenet.

Unless the Sunwolves get the boot (Japan isn't a SANZAAR member). Presumably the Kings would be the other team.

The only way I can see a 16 team comp working, that isn't completely stupid, is if everyone just plays each other once and I highly doubt that will happen.

[jono]

Unless the Sunwolves get the boot (Japan isn't a SANZAAR member). Presumably the Kings would be the other team.

The only way I can see a 16 team comp working, that isn't completely stupid, is if everyone just plays each other once and I highly doubt that will happen.

I was a for this - but then was talking to a few people on twitter who have looked into this a bit more than I had. If we did this every 2nd year we'd only get one home game against another Australian team. Which I'm ok with but I don't think the broadcasters would be happy with that.

[Buddha Handy]

Not sure if this one was posted/discussed already but this implies that a phone hookup is happening at 12.30 Perth time today and that is when everything will hit the fan.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...4f9993b88a978e

[Buddha Handy]

Not sure if this one was posted/discussed already but this implies that a phone hookup is happening at 12.30 Perth time today and that is when everything will hit the fan.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...4f9993b88a978e

In case you can't access the article....

Rebels and Force want a Super Rugby Commission


WAYNE SMITH
Senior sport writerBrisbane
@WayneKeithSmith

Which Australian franchise will get the chop? Chat live with Wayne Smith from 1pm to 2pm (AEDT) today. Questions and answers in the comments below.

Two of the Australian Super Rugby clubs most in danger of being axed from the competition, the Melbourne Rebels and the Western Force, have called for the creation of a Super Rugby Commission to take charge of its development.

Australian Rugby Union officials spent yesterday in the St Leonards bunker discussing the plan formulated by SANZAAR at its meeting in London last Friday. Details of what was discussed have been kept deliberately vague but with reports from across the Tasman indicating that the NZRFU pressed for Australia to reduce its teams from five to four, there is growing angst among the Australian clubs over who might be forced out.

If, in fact, the ARU has committed to a plan to reduce the clubs to just four, then the secrecy might be necessary and defensible. But if its intention is to keep all five franchises, then it certainly opens itself up to widespread criticism that it has thrown the game into chaos for no reason. Australian teams have made a dismal start to the Super Rugby season, but it is hardly surprising given all the angst and uncertainty in the game.

All presumably will be revealed to the five Australian franchise in a telephone hook-up at 3.30pm (AEDT) today but even the agenda of the meeting, leaked to The Australian, seems to have been kept intentionally nondescript.

ARU chief executive Bill Pulver will open with an “update from the SANZAAR ExCo” meeting, while his deputy Rob Clarke will speak to the Super Rugby bosses on the “player contracting moratorium”. Nothing, in short, to indicate in detail what transpired in London.

The ARU was hoping to hold talks with Fox Sports later this week, although a spokeswoman for the broadcaster said she was unaware of any rugby meetings scheduled in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Melbourne owner Andrew Cox and Force CEO Mark Sinderberry have come out in support of the idea raised in The Weekend Australian for the creation of a Super Rugby Commission, to effectively take over the running of the competition from SANZAAR.

“As far as the Rebels are concerned, a Super Rugby Commission is imperative to maintain the integrity and the structure of the Super Rugby competition for what it is about … the fans, members and viewers,” Cox said. “I don’t know how the NFL (National Football League, the governing body of American football) Commission works, but I would have thought a proper commission should have a representative of all the clubs, but you really don’t want a board of 18 people. There should be no representatives of the national bodies and be independent of them but it should have a working relationship with the national bodies.

“If you had a commission structure you wouldn’t be investing 11 years in setting up the Western Force, for instance, just to shut them down. You’d either be finding a new location for them or letting private owners come in and making it work.”

The widespread feeling among the Super Rugby clubs is that the ARU has come to view the competition not as an asset but as a financial drain.

There is a fear, too, that SANZAAR is too fixated on the international component of southern hemisphere rugby, The Rugby Championship, and that the only value it sees from Super Rugby is as a testing ground for future Test players, not as a self-sustaining, vibrant competition.

Force chief executive Mark Sinderberry believed the current SANZAAR arrangement wasn’t working.

“Maybe it’s time for Super Rugby to have its own commission,” Sinderberry said. “This is almost a window to get on with it so we can go about the process of developing the competition.” It is by no means certain that an Australian club will be cut but as that possibility hit home yesterday the ramifications of jettisoning a side were suddenly coming into much sharper focus.

“Stadium leases, the leasing of building, sponsorships … I don’t even want to think about it yet because it would be an almighty mess,” said one Super Rugby chief executive.

One major issue to be resolved is what will happen to the players of the doomed club. While the ARU has indicated it would pay out all contracts, complications could arise if it attempts to direct players to other Australian clubs. There certainly would be contention in law if the ARU tried to exercise any right to order players to relocate.

Rugby Union Players Association chief executive Ross Xenos said the issue was causing massive unrest throughout his members.

“As you can imagine, when there is discussion about 20 per cent of your workforce being cut, there is going to be consternation among the group of employees,” Xenos said.

Wallabies captain Stephen Moore said he had no knowledge of the politics or finances of the imbroglio but called on officials to resolve it as soon as possible.

“The one thing I would say is that, for the players, it’s really important to get it sorted, sooner rather than later,” said Moore.

[beige]

I was a for this - but then was talking to a few people on twitter who have looked into this a bit more than I had. If we did this every 2nd year we'd only get one home game against another Australian team. Which I'm ok with but I don't think the broadcasters would be happy with that.

Only if they gave an Australian team the flick - it would be 2 home games every year if the Sunwolves went.

[Jules]

I feel sick at the thought we could loose the force!! 😢

[Tazzmania]

Just tweeted foxtel to let them know if the Force goes so does my subscription

[volvo]

Hooper coming out for the force and 5 teams

...Waratahs captain Michael Hooper said on Tuesday he believed Australia could support five teams

“I think Australia can have five teams in the competition,” he said

“I think the Force have come out this year and done some really good things and then they’ve been one, the name that people have been throwing around a lot.

“We want to see five teams in the comp

“As players, we want guys having as much opportunity to wear a Wallaby jersey as possible. So I’m all in favour of having five teams and a competitive five teams at that.”...

http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2017/03...hs-super-rugby

[Buddha Handy]

Instead of cutting a team would there be any possibility of them taking the soft way out and going with merger instead?

For example they could merge the Brumbies and Rebels or the Force and Rebels and split the home games 50/50.

Not saying it is a good idea but could it be an option?

[beige]

The hell kind of article is that to put on the official ARU website?

[Tazzmania]

Green and Gold have just tweeted a copy of a supposedly leaked note from the weekend meeting which intimates four teams from Australia Brisbane Reds, Gold Coast Koaloas, Sydney Waratahs and Western Sydney Brumbies talk about going backwards and regressing the game ten fold if not more, will surely make Gee Rob , Papworth Growden et al extatic

[Alison]

That's got to be a joke, Tazz - surely??

[yungfen]

Instead of cutting a team would there be any possibility of them taking the soft way out and going with merger instead?

For example they could merge the Brumbies and Rebels or the Force and Rebels and split the home games 50/50.

Not saying it is a good idea but could it be an option?

Never thought of that option and I would be happy with that as we would still have a team to cheer for even will less games to see them!

[beige]

That's got to be a joke, Tazz - surely??

No it seems completely realistic

[Tazzmania]

Here is the tweet:

Attachment 4654