Super Rugby may be reduced to 16 teams, with SA and Australian sides likely to be cut

AFTER a number of changes over the last few years, there is a real possibility that Super Rugby could revert back to a 16-team competition in 2018, with South Africa set to lose one of their sides.

According to Afrikaans newspaper Rapport, the premier southern hemisphere competition may undergo yet another makeover that will result in a South African and Australian team being cut to make the tournament more competitive.

It is believed that there has already been communication between the SA Rugby Union and controlling body Sanzaar about possibly reducing South Africa’s six teams to five. Australia will be left with a similar dilemma, but New Zealand are sure to retain all six of their franchises as they have been the flag-bearers in the competition over the years.

While it is likely that the last-placed teams in South Africa and Australia would be axed, things are a bit more complicated with regards to the Southern Kings. There is a real will within South African rugby to ensure trans- formation takes place, with the already stated aim of having a Springbok team with 50% black-player representation for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. Of that number, 60% have to be black African. The Kings’ Eastern Cape catchme n t area is regarded as the bedrock of black rugby in the country, and having a Super Rugby franchise playing out of Port Elizabeth and East London is vital if SA Rugby hope to unearth large numbers of black African players in particular.

So, despite the struggles of the Kings in their two seasons of Super Rugby – in 2013 and 2016, where they ended bottom and second-last, and won just five games out of 31 – they could be guaranteed a position. That would result in the Lions, Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Cheetahs having to ensure they finish in the top four in the overall South African conference.

The EP Kings Currie Cup outfit have already lost their Premier Division status for the 2017 season, with one of Boland or the Pumas that will join the Free State Cheetahs, Golden Lions, Western Province, Sharks, Blue Bulls and Griquas. – ANA