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Super 14 expansion to start with finals
Greg Growden Chief Rugby Correspondent | May 22, 2008
THE proposed expansion of the Super 14 to a 26-week tournament will be delayed until at least 2010, but the first step - a six-team finals series - is set to begin next season.
Australian Rugby Union chief executive and SANZAR board member John O'Neill said yesterday that there was probably too little time for a revamped Super 14 including extra rounds, more local derbies and new teams to be put in place by next year.
However, SANZAR had taken notice of the groundswell of support from coaches that the finals series should be expanded from four teams as of 2009.
"There may be an opportunity to expand the finals series next year," O'Neill said. "That hasn't been ruled out, and it's still a possibility. But the major structural change [to the Super 14] will occur in 2010 and beyond."
O'Neill also revealed:
* Auckland Blues coach David Nucifora would be the ARU's next high-performance unit manager, but family issues were delaying an official announcement;
* The ARU had no interest in signing league star Sonny Bill Williams;
* South Africa and Australia would have to convince New Zealand that the experimental law variations used in the Super 14 should also be used in the Tri Nations. New Zealand instead wanted to adopt the full list of ELVs, which the International Rugby Board is trialling from August 1.
On Nucifora, O'Neill explained the ARU had "settled on him" as Pat Howard's successor and that he would live in Sydney.
"Subject to finalising the schooling for his three children, David will take up the position in June," O'Neill said. "His plans had been to return to Brisbane, where his children had been booked into school. We are now finding how difficult it is to get kids into Sydney schools midway during the year. But we're confident we'll get them placed."
And it seems Nucifora, unlike some of his HPU predecessors, will not be involved in attracting high-profile league players, despite speculation Williams and Mark Gasnier were considering changing codes.
"Australian rugby doesn't have any current interest in any rugby league players," O'Neill said. "Our plans are not to go down that path. We have a lot of good young kids coming through the ranks, and our development pathways are a lot better than what they were ... If we're going to concentrate our talent scouts anywhere, it will be on the under-20 competition. We're moving away from that top end of the market and concentrating on getting in a bit earlier."
O'Neill said it was still uncertain which laws would be used in this year's Tri Nations. "South Africa and Australia want the Super 14 ELVs used, and we're hoping to persuade New Zealand that's the right path to go down ... hopefully the weight of opinion will convince them that, for consistency's sake, we should be using the Super 14 ELVs."
He also had pointed words about the Waratahs coaching fiasco. "I don't think there's room for any applause for anyone at the moment," he said. "If you were Dan Vickerman or Phil Waugh and you had all your efforts and concentration on the Super 14 finals, I don't think all the speculation about the NSW coaching position is helpful."
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/n...182896808.html
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