Explosive stand-off ends for new Super Rugby deal

Story by Simon Chapman • 2h ago


After months of negotiations and rumours of an impending split, powerbrokers have confirmed Super Rugby Pacific will remain unified for the foreseeable future.

Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos and New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson fronted media in Sydney on Friday to announce the contract extension through to 2030.

It comes after ructions earlier this year as Rugby Australia threatened to pull out of Super Rugby Pacific and establish its own domestic Super Rugby competition.

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Importantly, a key stumbling block has been overcome with both parties coming to an agreement with regards to revenue sharing until the current broadcast deals expire, set for the end of 2025.

A Rugby Australia statement confirmed further financial agreements are to be determined following the finalisation of future broadcast agreements. 

"This long-term agreement provides certainty for players, coaches, fans, sponsors and broadcast partners and it solidifies our joint commitment to ensuring Super Rugby Pacific is the most entertaining, innovative, and fan-focused cross-border club competition in the world," Robinson said.

"We charted a new path with the introduction of Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua this year, and having all 91 games played in regional time zones, and believe we have entered an exciting new era for rugby in the Pacific region."

Marinos added, "Today marks the dawn of a new era of Super Rugby within our region. Securing this long-term partnership provides stability and continuity that the competition and Super Rugby clubs need to enable Rugby to grow in stature and importance across the region."

That board will include an independent chair, four independent directors, as well as one representative each from New Zealand Rugby, Rugby Australia, the New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA), and the Rugby Union Players' Association (RUPA).

The board will have a "clear, unbiased focus on governance" and create "a consistent look and feel across the competition." 

On top of that, the board has confirmed it will explore the creation of an integrated women's competition in an effort to build on the success of Super W in Australia and Super Rugby Aupiki in New Zealand.

Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan threw a grenade across the Tasman on the eve of this year's Super Rugby Pacific finale between the Crusaders and Blues, telling New Zealand Rugby chairman Stewart Mitchell that the 2023 edition of the competition would go ahead unaffected but there were no guarantees beyond that.

Rugby Australia reportedly sought a better financial position while New Zealand Rugby apparently refused to budge on the revenue share.

Under the former SANZAR set-up, the money was split evenly between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Super Rugby Pacific will continue in 2023 with five teams from Australia, five from New Zealand, as well as the new Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika outfits.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/more...fc7417013b2d50

Super Rugby Pacific forges ahead to 2030
Jasper Bruce
AAP
December 2, 2022 9:03AM


Super Rugby Pacific will continue as a united front until at least 2030 after Rugby Australia and its New Zealand counterpart resolved a financial dispute that threatened to tear the competition apart.

As part of the new agreement, Super Rugby Pacific will implement a nine-person board that is set to explore the possibility of merging the Australian and New Zealand women's competitions into an integrated league that could play its first games as early as next year.

Rugby Australia had previously considered transplanting the five Australian Super Rugby teams into a breakaway men's domestic league from 2024 unless it received a greater share of broadcast revenue.

Since non-Pacific teams exited the competition with the COVID-19 pandemic, New Zealand Rugby has banked close to $90 million a year from its Super Rugby broadcast deal, roughly three times what RA collects and significantly more than when participating countries split revenue equally pre-pandemic.

Talks between Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby culminated in a joint press conference in Sydney on Friday, when the bodies announced they had buried the hatchet and put pen to paper on a partnership spanning from 2024 to 2030.

"Today marks the dawn of a new era of Super Rugby within our region," RA CEO Andy Marinos said.

"Securing this long-term partnership provides stability and continuity that the competition and Super Rugby clubs need to enable rugby to grow in stature and importance across the region."

RA and NZR have come to an agreement regarding broadcast revenue for the final three years of the current deals but the exact distribution of monies has not been disclosed.

"A lot has been made, with media speculation around splits or shares and that sort of thing," NZR CEO Mark Robinson said.

"(But) the key focus of the entire competition now is to grow the entire pie and the entire commercial value of rugby in this wide region.

"It's about how we can grow the bigger pie so we all have a bigger slice."

Super Rugby Pacific has begun the recruitment process for its new board, which will include an independent chair and four independent directors as well as one representative each from NZR and RA and their corresponding players' associations.

Plans to unite Australia's Super W and New Zealand's Super Rugby Aupiki come only weeks after the women's Rugby World Cup concluded in Auckland before a record-breaking crowd at the final.

Marinos said a united women's competition was a high priority for Super Rugby Pacific.

"I'd like to say (it could happen) by at least 2024 and if there's some sort of crossover we can do even next year, we'll certainly be looking at that," he said.

"We really are both committed to making sure we grow the women's game."

Now that the competition's future has been secured, Super Rugby Pacific will consider which rules could be tweaked to ensure the competition remains the best product possible.

"We're looking at things that are not fundamental changing of the law, really just adapting how we can improve the game," Marinos said.

"It's not one particular thing, it's just rather having a focus and saying, 'How can we present the game and make it a better spectacle?'.

"Pick up the intensity and the pace and bring that fatigue into the game, that creates the space and opportunity for tries and people to exhibit their talent and flare."

https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/ru...2030-c-9036278