Super Rugby Aotearoa in its existing form is locked in for 2021, a crossover competition with Australia is on the wish-list and four would-be expansion franchises are being told 2022 is their earliest point of entry.
That was the upshot of an announcement by New Zealand Rugby chairman Brent Impey on Thursday evening in which he also emphatically denied reports this week that his organisation had been aware of the contentious December 12 end of the looming Rugby Championship.
Impey confirmed his board had rubber-stamped, subject to certain caveats involving broadcasters, the players’ association and the Sanzaar collective, its professional franchise competition for next year, and it would look decidedly similar to this year’s post-Covid solution, but with a couple of important improvements.
The hugely popular Super Rugby Aotearoa concept will be back in 2021.
There will be finals in 2021 to follow a two-round competition involving the existing five New Zealand franchises. And there is the hope that a “crossover” competition with Australia will follow that.
“Super Rugby Aotearoa will be back,” said Impey on a Zoom call with reporters. “After the success of the 2020 competition it became really a no-brainer that we do something similar again in 2021.
“Yesterday there was a board resolution to have a five-team Super Rugby competition, subject to ongoing dialogue with the Players Association, Sanzaar, Sky and others. We’re not quite ready to make an official announcement but will be doing that in coming days.”
Impey said NZ Rugby had noted fans’ enthusiasm for the 2020 Aotearoa competition and as a result they would roll out a two-round league with finals. “We will continue with afternoon kickoffs and will continue if we can to put our fans first as we look to add further innovations.
”We also want to continue with Australia in a crossover competition of some kind once Rugby Australia 2021 has been completed.”
The NZR chairman, though, confirmed the mooted expansion to make way for a Pasifika team of some form, and possibly others, would not take place next year.
“There has been a lot of speculation around our keenness to include a Pasifika team in Super Rugby, and we’re still committed to getting that across the line at some point. But the board believes we must get this right,” he added.
“Yesterday the NZR board short-listed four preferred [candidates] for 2022 and beyond, subject to those caveats mentioned previously. We hope to announce them shortly, but some are subject to commercial confidentiality at this point.
“The board is committed to approving a minimum of three teams from the shortlist, with that decision to be made on 30 November.”
In terms of the makeup of those potential expansion franchises, all Impey could say was: “They are a combination of New Zealand and broadly Pasifika-based teams around the Asia-Pacific region. It’s not just New Zealand [teams] and not just Pasifika.”
Told the Hawaii-based Kanaloa outfit had indicated they were ready to proceed next year, Impey reiterated NZR’s view: “The board wasn’t satisfied at this point that any of applicants were able to put a team or provide the necessary financial backing. The last thing we want is for any team to come in and get smashed. Yes, there were parties that wanted licences for 2021, but we considered … none were ready.”
Impey also emphatically denied a recent media report that indicated that NZ Rugby had been aware of and had even signed off on an “agreed” December 12 end date to the upcoming Rugby Championship.
NZ Rugby has said all along it had only ever agreed to a December 5 conclusion to TRC which would get its All Blacks home in time to spend Christmas with their families, following a border isolation period.
“I’m chairman of Sanzaar and there has not been a Sanzaar board meeting since August 4,” said Impey in reference to the leaked minutes from a CEOs meeting on September 17 that appeared to show NZR had agreed to the December 12 conclusion.
“The notes that have been published are not board minutes and have got a fundamental error in them as far as we’re concerned that says the six-week draw was agreed by all. I can tell you it wasn’t. We know that and Rugby Australia and Sanzaar know that because we kept telling them right up until the time they announced the draw.
“The notes also quite clearly refer to an impasse and there are many emails that prove this. So our position has never changed. Having said that, our focus is trying to get this TRC issue sorted and we’re not going to bother to engage in tit-for-tat on so-called notes which weren’t minutes and weren’t board minutes either.
“[But] we do challenge those who have made comments concerning NZR’s integrity. We defend our position and we’re firm on it.”
Impey confirmed NZR chief executive Mark Robinson continued to work diligently on a solution to the Rugby Championship schedule impasse.
“Mark is dealing with that issue on a daily, hourly basis. There are a number of potential solutions. We haven’t got one we can table now but it’s top of mind.”
In terms of the trans-Tasman relationship and any hope of getting a mutually agreeable crossover competition sorted for 2021, Impey was defiantly positive.
“The situation regarding Australia has been beaten up … they didn’t want to be involved in our expression of interest process. But as far as we are concerned we have the door open to them in dialogue around a crossover competition once Super Rugby Aotearoa is over in 2021 and also on a trans-Tasman type competition [further down the track].”
“We’ve got to remember they’ve got their own challenges. For example, as we speak they haven’t got a broadcast deal. We’re leaving ball in their court for them to open up that dialogue.”
Impey said he regarded his Australian cohort Hamish McClennan’s comment on Sky this week that the trans-Tasman relationship was at its “lowest ebb” as pure “banter”.
“The relationship isn’t bad at all. We’ve had a couple of Zoom meetings which have been positive. I saw [his comments] on The Breakdown and I’m pretty relaxed about it.”
But he did concede working together was in both unions’ best interests. “There are no relationship hurdles as far we’re concerned. But it did make reasonable headlines in Aussie media … so be it.”….
