Player draft for Super Rugby?

A 60-second scrum clock and a player draft are on the cards for Super Rugby as negotiations reach a tipping point between Rugby Australia and New Zealand over the future of the competition.

The competition could also banish yellow cards for deliberate knockdowns and pare back the role of the television match official in games.

The ideas were the talk of last week’s Super Rugby conference in Auckland, which brought together the head coaches and chief executives of every team, alongside host broadcasters from both countries, referees’ bosses, players’ associations and executives from New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia.

A competition-wide eligibility catchment is also on the cards, to promote the movement of players between teams without it affecting their test prospects.

They were there to review the 2022 season of Super Rugby Pacific but were also thinking and talking more broadly, as NZR and RA top brass thrash out the future of the competition.

Australian teams were aligned in wanting a reduced role for the TMO and fewer stoppages, with a 60-second scrum clock understood to be one of RA’S top requests for the competition in 2024 and beyond.

New Zealand broadcaster Sky Sport is supportive of innovations such as a player draft which could be turned into a televised product.

It would also be a mechanism for equalisation which, in theory, could see up-and-coming New Zealand players traded to weaker Australian teams.

Though it is unlikely a draft system will be agreed upon by 2024, RA is understood to want a commitment from NZR that it will explore the idea. Sources present described the mood as collegiate and positive, with all parties keen on upping ball-inplay time, minimising stoppages and refining the role of the TMO.

The principles dovetail nicely with RA’S hopes for the competition in 2024 and beyond. With rugby’s domestic product relegated to niche sport in the shadow of the AFL and NRL, the organisation is desperate to innovate.

RA wants penalties reinstated for deliberate knockdowns, instead of yellow cards.

RA is open to agreeing a 10-year deal to secure the future of the competition but has also been steadfast in its desire for an equal split of broadcast revenue, a stipulation met with incredulity in New Zealand.

This point has stalled negotiations and led RA to threaten to launch a domestic competition in place of Super Rugby Pacific in 2024.