Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby have taken a break from hostilities to agree a new Super Rugby format that will see the 12 teams playing each other at least once.
Reports from both sides of the Tasman suggest the format will be similar to the one in use before the countries split into domestic competitions early in the 2021 campaign.
Reports in the Sydney Morning Herald and New Zealand Herald say the teams will play each other once before playing three additional games.
After the 14 game regular season, the top eight will go through to knockout quarter-finals with first against eighth, second against seventh and so on with the higher ranked team playing at home.
Both news organisations reorted the full details are yet to be confirmed with a sticking point over how RA and NZR determine the additional three fixtures.
“While RA want the additional matches to be derbies, the results of trans-Tasman Super Rugby indicate that option would provide an unfair advantage for Australian sides,” wrote the SMH.
“Another option that has been discussed is a random selection of one team from the top third, middle third and bottom third of this year’s trans-Tasman Super Rugby ladder.
“The other alternative is a completely random selection, but this would leave some teams playing the top sides twice while others only have to face those same elite teams once.”
The NZ Herald made mention of the current issues between the nations over the postponement of Bledisloe 3.
“However damaged Trans-Tasman relations are, they have held up for long enough to enable administrators from New Zealand and Australia to agree a compromise deal on what Super Rugby will look like next year,” wrote Gregor Paul.
The NZ Herald said the three extra games would not be derbies.
“The Herald understands that while Rugby Australia wanted these extra games to be domestic fixtures – Australian teams playing Australian teams and New Zealand teams playing New Zealand teams – that won’t be the case.
“Their request was not granted amid concerns that the competition would instantly lack integrity if there was a heavy weighting on local derbies – with New Zealand sides having argued in the past that this creates inequity and sets them a much harder path to reach the finals than their Australian rivals.
“A formula is being developed based on how the transtasman table finished this year and the only certainty to date is that the two new teams, Moana Pasifika and Fiji Drua, will definitely play each other twice in 2022.”
The NZ Herald reports the competition will kick off in February next year and be finished in mid-June, ahead of the July tests.
It will be played in one continuous bloc – to avoid the problems of the recent past where the competition had to go on hold for three weeks to allow test rugby to be played every June.
piru
Roar Rookie
Kiwis and formerly proud Australian Rugby fans shouldn’t suffer the leftist push from dubious sections of the Australian media and corporate elites to include substandard Franchises from non-rugby states get bent
Putz19
Roar Rookie
Why would NZR agree to release their centrally contracted players and remove them from the high performance gateways established to the Australian system at the moment? Generally speaking, issues that arose at the beginning of the TT comp with Australian sides not being able to consistently perform the basic fundamentals were still evident at the tail end of the competition (passing both sides, out of hand kicking, defence structures....). Which shows me a broken high performance model at the moment where players are not being developed within the ARU structures. Will NZ players return better more rounded players - on the evidence of what we have seen the last 2 years, I highly doubt it. As a lot of previous commentary stated over the last couple of days about the boards doing what is right for them should NZ allow AUS franchises access to its players to strengthen their teams? Or should the ARU have 3 teams and have that talent pool condensed rather than spread out over 5 teams. Is it coincidental that the Wallabies and provincial teams were at their strongest when they had 3 teams? There is no simple answer and I can see arguments for both sides, but at the end of the day NZ will do what’s best for them and AUS will also do what they think is right for them and the Australian rugby public.
nroko
Roar Rookie
Reds vs Crusaders had more viewers than any other match in SRAU apart from the SRAU final.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
If he keeps angering the Kiwis, he might! And the NZRU is the central contracting body for rugby in NZ. :silly:
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
I'm not sure Andy Marinos has anything to do with Oz players playing NPC...
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
Couple of players did move across to NZ. Angus Scott-Young (Reds) is at Bay of Plenty, Solomon Kata (Brumbies) is at Auckland, Brumbies prop Tom Ross is at Southland and Sekope Kepu is at Counties. Hopefully rugby in most parts of NZ can fire up next week. I'm sure NZ provinces will love to accept more players -- if Andy Marinos can stay out of it!!
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
Content I get, but couldn’t we have generated a better product than what’s been proposed? It won’t do well because Australian teams will be behind 8 ball again because of Covid this year. No junior elite programs, no 20s, Shute shield cancelled. Been nowhere to develop next crop of players and impacted greatly Tahs, Melbourne and Canberra offseason. You’ll need to open players moving across ditch for this to be viable.
Eltski
Roar Rookie
If you want integrity in the schedule every team plays every team once. 12 teams - 11 games each. Top 4 qualify. None of this 8 teams in the finals rubbish. You have a whole season of games just to have 67% of the teams still qualify for the finals. Absolute rubbish.
J Jones
Roar Rookie
Look its great that you have hope for Union here, long-term I don't even have hope for League, or Union in NZ. Point is, 1st world, modern countries are changing, and not in a way that promotes organized contact team sports like Rugby.
1997 Brumbies
Roar Rookie
Not sure, haven't had the chance to ask them all
J Jones
Roar Rookie
capacity based on what? where is your actual proof of numbers..? numbers that reflect the actual trends in modern Australia... not just "potential" numbers
J Jones
Roar Rookie
why do you think so many more are choosing non/low level contact sport
1997 Brumbies
Roar Rookie
Im not sure you're actually taking in what I'm saying. Im not saying that those athletes will come across to rugby. All I'm saying is Australian rugby has the capacity to expand, not that it definitely will (as per premise of this conversation).
J Jones
Roar Rookie
:laughing: :laughing: then click your heels Dorothy so easy to overcome reality NRL can barely field 6-8 competitive teams, the actual numbers playing competitive organized contact teamsports is getting less and less every year… do you know the actual numbers?
1997 Brumbies
Roar Rookie
Because those athletes currently exist in another code. Therefore if they played rugby there would be enough....
J Jones
Roar Rookie
exactly... so then how can you possibly concluded there are enough numbers without knowing what the number is...
1997 Brumbies
Roar Rookie
Not sure as i didn't read the report in full and I'm not even sure that number is stated specifically. The report deals with percentages of junior Australians that participate and organised sport. But translated into senior football its enough to fill 18 AFL, 16 RL and a bunch of soccer teams.
J Jones
Roar Rookie
you quoted a whole lot of percentages... of what number ? 10000000000000? 10000000000? 10000000?
The Late News
Roar Rookie
excellent your excellency! A giggle a day keeps the dic#heads away!
1997 Brumbies
Roar Rookie
Not sure what you're on about JJ but the conversation is about wether or not rugby has the opportunity to expand in Australia. Considering the low amount of people playing and following than its pretty obvious there is room to grow...