Super 14 expansion plan features more local derbies

SYDNEY – The Super 14 competition will be expanded to 15 teams from 2011 and feature more local derbies under a compromise plan unveiled by the South African, New Zealand and Australian rugby boards yesterday.

The future of the SANZAR alliance had been under threat with the three countries divided about details such as the length and format of the new competition before brokering a deal at a meeting in Dublin last week.The trio were given a week to present the new proposal to their respective boards before details were released yesterday.Under the agreed proposal, which still has to be approved by broadcasters next month, the 15 teams will be split into three conferences, one in each country.Each of those sides will play the teams in their own conference twice a season, home and away, to increase the number of local derby matches.They will also play eight of the other 10 teams from the other two conferences once, either home or away.QUALIFICATIONThe three conference winners will qualify for the finals along with three wildcards, comprising other teams with the highest points for the whole season from any of the conferences.The site of the 15th team will be decided by tender.’What we have agreed upon is a competition with added domestic interest and a compelling international component that will see Super Rugby retain its status as rugby’s toughest provincial competition,’ SANZAR chief executive Andy Marinos said in a joint statement.The season will be expanded from 14 to 24 weeks, starting in late February and ending in August, except in World Cup years when everything will move forward.It will also include a three-week break in June to allow for internationals against visiting teams.’From an Australian perspective, having a presence in the marketplace from February to August delivers us the capacity to compete with the other codes from a stronger and more compelling position,’ Australian Rugby Union managing director John O’Neill said.LATE STARTThe Tri-Nations international series, which normally starts in July, will now commence at the end of the Super 15, in early August, and will follow a permanent pattern.South Africa will stage the first leg of the series while New Zealand and Australia will meet in the last two matches so the Springbok players are available for the domestic Currie Cup – one of the major talking points in the negotiations.’We have said at every juncture that our preference was to maintain the three-country alliance and to build on it,’ New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said. – Nampa-Reuters