Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos has played down any suggestion of blocking the inclusion of Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua in Super Rugby from 2022 onwards, but indicated that doubts about their readiness exist across the ditch.
Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua were granted conditional licences by New Zealand Rugby last month, when NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson said they had more hurdles to clear and Rugby Australia also needed to be on board.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, however, Marinos said it was proving difficult to get an accurate picture of the bids’ progress and that the competitiveness of the sides had been a concern.
“It’s a difficult question to answer because all the detailed information is not coming through us, it is going through NZ Rugby,” Marinos said.
“We know they needed this window up until June 30 to get whatever necessary finance and structure in place.
“I think we’ve highlighted the fact …are they going to be able to get the necessary squad together in time in order for them to put in teams that are going to be highly competitive through the process?
“But we are just following the advice from NZ Rugby, and wait to see where they land with all the different components and all the different obstacles that they’ve given them to achieve before June 30.”
Asked if Rugby Australia would automatically give the green light to the two new teams for 2022 if NZ Rugby deemed them ready, Marinos said: “We’ve never said we’re not going to support their participation.
“We’ve always raised a very genuine concern.
“Obviously, we appreciate it’s a New Zealand-led initiative so while some information has come through as to their state of readiness when the announcement was made, that’s been well documented.
“But going forward we wait to see if all the boxes can be ticked and if they are that will give us a greater sense of comfort that they are going to be able to stand themselves up.”
The lack of a full-throated support from Rugby Australia for Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua’s inclusion may also stem from Marinos’ hard-won experience.
Marinos took over as Sanzaar CEO in 2016, the year the competition expanded to 18 teams, and although he had nothing to do with that strategic decision he had to defend it for much of his tenure.
The Sunwolves’ struggles to win many games of football during that period also showed the price of essentially setting up a franchise to fail, and Marinos’ circumspection in relation to the two new Pacific Islands sides may reflect some of the lessons from that period.
Marinos was also CEO of Sanzaar when it rejected a Fijian bid for inclusion in Super Rugby in 2018.
The structure and format of the 2022 competition won’t be locked until the end of June, when it will be known whether Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua have been given full licences.
The success of the Super Rugby AU competition had given Rugby Australia something “to ponder”, Marinos said, but he also indicated that a “full” trans-Tasman competition with either 10 or 12 teams was still the likely way forward.
“We’ve been really encouraged by what we’ve seen,” he said. “The enthusiasm, the fact that we get an Aussie winner very week, and we’ve been unable to unearth and bring through a whole lot of new young talent.
“All of our metrics are tracking upwards. Our broadcast, our viewership is up, the attendances are positive. This is all part of the new era we’re going into … but I think there is a lot of value in the trans-Tasman.
“It’s also good to give yourself a litmus test against your compatriots across the ditch.”
Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan has previously told Stuff that private equity investors favoured the trans-Tasman format, while New Zealand’s players have used their influential voice to state that they want to play Australian teams.
Marinos also said that reports of the Bledisloe Cup being held over three consecutive weekends was just “chatter” at this stage, and that talks were ongoing with NZ Rugby about the dates for the Bledisloe Cup and The Rugby Championship.
