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SANZAAR has finally revealed the changes to the Super Rugby format to be introduced at the end of the 2017 season, re-jigging the much-maligned format and consigning one Australian and two South African teams to the scrapheap.
However, the announcement is likely to infuriate already-frustrated Australian rugby fans, with the sides which will make way at the end of the season still a mystery.
In a statement released on Sunday evening, Super Rugby’s governing body didn’t name the teams that won’t be suiting up in 2018, with that decision to be made by the ARU and SARU.
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“This decision has not been an easy one and we recognise the difficulty associated with reducing the number of teams in Australia and South Africa,” said SANZAAR Chairman Brent Impey.
“Naturally we understand that there will be some very disappointed franchises but the tournament’s long-term future and the economic reality of the business at present is something that had to be addressed.
“The decision to retain the Sunwolves is linked directly to SANZAAR’s strategic plan for the future. The potential for growth of the sport in Asia off the back of the establishment of the Sunwolves and the impending RWC in 2019 is significant. It remains an obvious focus for the organisation and a Japanese Super Rugby franchise is key to that strategy.”
The ARU announced they will be holding a press conference at 9:30am (AEST) on Monday morning to “address the Super Rugby competition restructure announced by SANZAAR.”
With three teams now out of the picture, the controversial conference system has been changed, although not completely scrapped despite the criticism of many fans.
Instead of the two-group, four-conference format which was introduced at the start of 2016, next year will see the competition split into three groups.
Under the new system, the four South African teams will be in one conference alongside Argentina’s Jaguares, while the remaining Australian teams will couple up with the Sunwolves in another. New Zealand’s five sides make up the final conference.
Under the revised structure, each team will not play all 14 other sides, rather meeting 12 of the opposing franchises throughout the course of the season.
Much like in the current structure, each conference winner will advance to the finals at the end of the regular season from 2018 onwards, with the next five sides on the overall ladder making up the remainder of the teams in the finals.
SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos said there were two key factors that influenced the decision to cut Super Rugby back down to the 15-team format.
“It became clear during our strategic assessment that there are two facets to the future of our tournaments,” Marinos said.
“The first is a requirement to react to existing market forces within the sporting business environment and to implement short-term change to Super Rugby. This is what we have done.
“The second is the longer term vision, through a strategic plan, to build the brand that in the future can maximise further development of the game, commercial revenues and the ongoing sustainability of the tournaments. This work is presently ongoing and details will be released in the coming months.”
While the ARU is likely to reveal the Australian team which will make way in 2018 on Monday morning, it is not yet known when their South African counterparts will do the same.
At any rate, it is likely to be a nervous night for Western Force players. Despite the side’s 46-41 victory over the Kings in Perth on Sunday afternoon, the franchise remains the most likely side to be axed in the new format.
In South Africa, the Cheetahs and Kings look to be the most likely teams to make way in 2018.
Revised Super Rugby format
The competition will be played between three conferences comprising the following teams.
New Zealand Conference
Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders, HurricanesAustralian Conference
Four Australian teams (TBC), SunwolvesSouth Africa Conference
Four South Africa teams (TBC), JaguaresTournament Details
-120 match regular season plus seven-match finals series
-15 teams
-Three conferences (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa)
-18 rounds (16 matches per team, two bye weeks)
-Each team will play eight matches within its conference (four home and four away)
-Each team will play eight cross-conference matches – against four of the five teams from each of the other two conferences (four at home and four away)
-Each team will play 12 of the other teams within the season (85% of opposition teams which is up from 70% in 2016).
-Eight team Finals Series: Three Conference winners and; five wild card places – the next best performing teams based on competition points after the Conference winners regardless of -Conference. Conference winners and fourth-placed team on competition points will host quarter-finals.