Aussies want trans-Tasman competition

The Australian Rugby Union Players’ Association believes the impending move of two South African Super Rugby franchises to European competition is a perfect reason why Australia should not cut a team of its own and instead push for a trans-Tasman competition.

With two South African teams, the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings, set to leave Super Rugby next season, reports indicate the two sides will go north and feature in the Pro12, a competition made up of teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.

While nothing has been confirmed, there are rumours South Africa is on the outer with other southern hemisphere nations, given they are happy to shift teams to the northern hemisphere.

If other South African franchises were to follow suit, as is being assumed, it could leave Super Rugby in disarray, creating the possibility of an exclusively Australian and New Zealand competition.

It is a scenario RUPA chief executive Ross Xenos says makes sense.

‘‘The prospective decision to move two teams into the Pro12 has significant and direct consequences for Australia and Super Rugby,’’ Xenos said.

‘‘It is now very apparent that SARU are testing the waters on the long-term option of their teams playing in European competitions full-time from 2021.

‘‘Why is Australia shrinking our rugby footprint at a time when South Africa is increasing theirs with a foot in both camps, and in Australia other codes are increasing their local content? Moving to four Australian teams makes any future Australasian or trans-Tasman competition more difficult to achieve.’’

Xenos also hit out at the ARU, saying they have ‘‘made enemies of almost everyone’’ as it prepares to wield the axe over either the Western Force or Melbourne Rebels.

‘‘In Australia, the ARU has made enemies of almost everyone as it determines which team it has the legal capacity to remove and which state of fans, volunteers, players and governments it will disenfranchise,’’ Xenos said.

‘‘The ARU has not made any commitments on what kind of savings there will be from any reduction [of teams] and how any reinvestment would benefit the whole of Australian rugby.

‘‘Simply threatening financial risk or talking about possible savings is not a strategy for the future of the game.’’

The ongoing uncertainty surround- all that ing Super Rugby is creating a major headache for Sanzaar, with the announcement of next year’s draw likely to be pushed back.

The 2016 and 2017 draws were released in late September of the previous year, giving teams enough time to plan for the season ahead.

While this will make Sanzaar’s job somewhat easier, operations manager Brendan Morris and his team cannot work on the full draw for next season until the ARU makes a call on whether to get rid of the Force or Rebels.

Organising a draw that every franchise is happy with is a difficult task and Sanzaar’s have a logistical nightmare on its plate as it does not know the final make-up of the 15 teams.

Sanzaar will forge ahead with a 15-team draw but it is understood it has not set a date for the release of the 2018 draw given the uncertainty from Australia’s end.

A draw takes several months to put together and all clubs need to be consulted by Sanzaar throughout the process.

Sanzaar is in charge of booking flights and accommodation for all Super Rugby teams and it needs to monitor other sports to see whether they have booked grounds on certain days.

When Sanzaar announced in April that Super Rugby would be condensed to a 15-team competition, the SARU said it would need a few months to finalise which teams would be omitted.

Comparatively, Australia Rugby Union chairman Cameron Clyne assured the rugby community a decision would be made within ‘‘48 to 72 hours’’ – a prediction that has left Australia’s governing body with egg on its face now that we are 88 days – or roughly 2112 hours – without any further clarity.