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SANZAR have revealed their proposed plans for an extended Super rugby competition that, if successful, will launch in 2011.
A complete overhaul of the current system will see the addition of a 15th Super rugby franchise from the Australia region however not necessarily from Australia.
The 24-week competition will guarantee each team a minimum of eight home matches and a 16-match regular season. A new six-team finals series will include an extra round with two sudden-death qualifiers before the semi-finals.
For the first time in the competition's history teams will be divided into three national conferences of five teams each.
Teams play the other four teams in their conference twice while also playing four out of the five teams from the other two conferences.
The six-team final series will consist of the three conference winners and three wildcard teams with the three wildcard teams and the conference winner with the least competition points to play an elimination round in order to advance to the semi-finals.
The new competition will stretch from the last weekend in February to the first weekend of August with a three-week bye period to accommodate the June international Test schedule.
The Tri-Nations will commence following the "Super 15" final in mid-August.
"The biggest thing the ARU conceded was the break in June, we did that so we could get a competition that starts the same time," ARU boss John O'Neill said.
While SANZAR has yet to confirm Australia will have a fifth team in its conference, O'Neill was adamant that was the rational conclusion, despite a strong push from South Africa for another team from that country.
O'Neill said he expected expressions of interest from Melbourne, Gold Coast and Western Sydney in addition to South Africa, while he also thought there could be potential bids from Japan, the Pacific Islands and possibly even New Zealand.
He said the decision on the 15th team would be "a common sense majority decision" made by the SANZAR board before the end of this year.
O'Neill felt the major criteria included an applicant's financial wherewithal, its commercial value and potential rugby audience.
"It's not rocket science, there's plenty of examples of how to do it well and there's some examples of how not to do it well," said O'Neill, who likened the process to establishing soccer's A-League a few years ago.
While some Australian Super coaches have expressed misgivings about the depth of playing talent for a fifth local franchise, O'Neill was adamant that wouldn't be a problem and that the existing teams would not be weakened.
"We will not be making the same mistakes that were made when the Western Force were established, we will guarantee that the strength of the existing franchises will not be diluted," O'Neill said.
He said the range of recruitment options for a fifth Australian franchise would include repatriating locally born players and buying players from the Pacific Islands and possibly Japan and Argentina, as well as mounting further raids on the rugby league ranks.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...002381,00.html
Interesting I wonder who the three 'wildcard' teams will be? One from each nation - possible compromise for the South Africans???
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Originally Posted by BaldCunus
