Secret documents coming out of Australia’s Super Rugby states reveal a push to include Japanese teams in a new Heineken Cup-style Asia Pacific Championship.
While a World Club Challenge has already been mooted – and is being considered every three or four years – it can be revealed the Queensland Reds are driving support to follow the hugely successful Heineken Cup and Challenge Cup models in Europe.
The proposed model would see a finals weekend involving the highest ranked Super Rugby and Japanese League One teams in the Championship Cup and Challenge Cup play on one weekend, before the winner of the Championship Cup takes on the winner of the Northern Hemisphere’s Heineken Cup in a neutral location.
All five Australian Super Rugby franchises have seen the proposed model and there is broad support for the concept.
There is hope that the new Super Rugby joint venture board, which has the respective franchises in Australia and New Zealand driving the domestic competition, rather than the national unions who typically put international rugby ahead of everything else, can get the concept off the ground.
A push from Australia’s Super Rugby states hope that Japan can be involved in a cross-border competition, which replicates the Northern Hemisphere’s Heineken Cup. Photo: Jenny Evans/Getty Images
Crucially, no made up teams would be included and all 12 sides in Super Rugby Pacific would be able to qualify for the competition that would involve the best out of Japan’s League One competition.
The plan, which has been seen by The Roar, was proposed to Australia’s Super Rugby general managers after COVID-19 forced a competition reset. It also has the support of some ambitious clubs in Japan.
Under the proposal, the top two from each region (Australia, New Zealand and Japan) in the previous year’s standings would qualify for the Champions Cup.
Marika Koroibete scored for Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights during their League One final victory over Suntory Sungoliath at National Stadium on May 29, 2022 in Tokyo. But could the Wallabies star play against Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby teams? (Photo: Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
Those who miss out on the Champions Cup would qualify for the Challenge Cup, meaning every team in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Fiji Drua and Moana Pasifika, would be included.
Similarly, the next highest ranked sides from the Japanese League One competition would make up the remaining four sides in the Challenge Cup.
Based on last year’s standings, the Crusaders, Blues, Brumbies, Waratahs, Panasonic Wild Knights and Suntory Sungoliath would make up the Champions Cup and play five pool matches with the top four playing in the semi-finals before a winner takes all final.
Chiefs star Damian McKenzie spent a year at Suntory Sungoliath, who lost to Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights in the Japanese League One final. But could they play in a Asia Pacific Championship against teams from Australia and New Zealand? (Photo: Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
While the remaining sides would play across two pools in a Challenge Cup series, which features semi-finals and a final.
The winner of the Champions Cup would take on the winner from up north, thereby opening up the possibility of Leinster playing the Crusaders or Toulouse squaring off against the Wild Knights or Brumbies
Importantly, the matches would be played intermittently throughout the regular Super Rugby season similar to up in the Northern Hemisphere.
Under the proposal, the Super Rugby season would start at the start of February and a World Club Challenge final would be played immediately after the Super Rugby final, which is scheduled for June 24.
One of the challenges for a World Club challenge has been finding a date that works for all five major domestic competitions in the world but given the French Top 14 final for 2023 is June 17, there is hope within Australian rugby circles that some leeway could be given.
By playing the World Club Challenge at the end of June, it would leave open the July Test window.
The benefits for Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and Japan would be immense.
Not only would the competition add to Super Rugby, it would tap into Japan’s huge 130 million population and new broadcast, sponsorship and revenue opportunities.
Already the majority of Australia’s Super Rugby franchises have agreements with Japanese teams, including the Panasonic Wild Knights and Kintetsu Liners, while the Waratahs’ major sponsor, Nomura Research Institute, Ltd, is Japanese too.
The Queensland Reds faced off against the Crusaders in last year’s Super Rugby quarter-finals. Photo: Joe Allison/Getty Images
The time zone friendly conditions in Japan would also allow for the competition to be a broadcaster’s dream unlike the previous iterations of Super Rugby, which recklessly expanded and were set up to fail by introducing made up teams with no historical attachment.
Japan has long wanted a seat at the table and are “aggressively” seeking opportunities to play against the best of the Southern Hemisphere.
“We don’t know precisely the situation for the Super Rugby future and what kind of decisions people will make, however one thing that’s very obvious for us is that we need a cross-border type of competition to push up our quality of the league,” Japan Rugby League One chairman Genichi Tamatsuka told AAP last September.
“We continuously discuss with the many unions, other foreign leagues, and we aggressively seek the opportunity.
“We can have some sort of cross-border competition, some of our teams building to play in some of the competition, so those are the things we want to do but we haven’t made a final decision yet.”
Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos hit back soon after, saying they wanted to consolidate the current competition.
“We really want to settle in and bed this competition model and structure down before we start looking to quickly evolve and expand,” he said.
“That’s been a criticism… where the old Super Rugby competition continually felt needed to expand and add while the fans just wanted consistency in format and performance.”
Michael Leitch reacts following Japan’s defeat in the Rugby World Cup 2019 Quarter Final match against eventual champions South Africa. Photo Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
There is a belief that if no action is taken, Australia will miss out on tapping into one of the biggest markets in the world.
Without a third-tier competition, it is also a thought Australia could blow an opportunity to play more development matches before their respective domestic competitions get underway.
The Force, Reds and Rebels played a series of matches in Japan last year, while the Waratahs have a partnership with the Sanix Blues.
By increasing ties with their Japanese rivals, Super Rugby sources believe it would help the alignment and their likely integration into The Rugby Championship.
They also believe it could also slow the player drain to Europe, with players perhaps choosing Japan instead of the United Kingdom or France to leave open the possibility of Wallabies eligibility.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
The population of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area is estimated at 36 million (Goggled). That's a lot of rugby teams with Tokyo in the name; confused much? But a condition of entry for teams into the JRUL was that their name include their home area; company name is up to the team. Hino cancelled their season because of the drunken rampage by players (and sexual assault); do you think the JRU would have done anything but approve that decision (and in a heartbeat)? In 2020, a Hino player was busted with cocaine and the JRU suspended the competition for three rounds and ran an education campaign so the JRU has teeth. And the JRL is not a rebrand. The JRU wants to host another RWC and needs a viable domestic competition in place (saw this on the website) to be able to vie for the hosting chance.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
And who owns the clubs now. When the season kicked off last year plenty talk about how many teams wanted to have Tokoyo in their names. JRU was not able to make teams move like they wanted and promised because the companies said no. The Companies still run the league going off the issues the JRU said would be resolved by the reband which the companies refused to do so never happened. Hino recently cancelling their remaining J1 games, doesnt seem like the JRU have the power over the clubs and they are still doing what they want. Can you tell me anything the JRU has done that the clubs didn't want to do but were made do it.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
Under the old system, the JRU had very little say. The club's were owned by the companies: JRU had no say over recruitment, for example, or running the games. It was almost decorative in function, that's how weak the old JRU was. Some teams names have largely unchanged because of mutual consent by all parties and not just because the company wanted it.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
It's the same teams with the same owners funded the same way. Yes the JRU are running things but just like with the sunwolves if the owners pull their support the league folds. Ricoh Black Rams changed to Black Rams Tokyo, Suntory Sungoliaths became to Tokyo Sungoliaths etc. I would love to know how the league is different from before rebranding when it was the Top league. The Union runs all rugby in the country so the Top League was always under the JRU just like the PLR is subject to the RFU. If the SRP teams changed their names to include their city would it be a new league. When the SRP board is set up will it be a new league.
woodart
Roar Rookie
two yrs in , and sth african teams are already throwing games that arent important, using B teams . thats one of the big probs with jamming more and more club fixtures into a season. many of those games are there solely for tv filler, and coaches are treating them as such.b grade teams playing filler games for a tranquilized audience.nrl does it for half of their season. if you dont mind being treated as a commodity, thats cool... I do.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
It wasn't a revamp. The JRL is an entirely new competition. All teams are now under the jurisdiction of the JRU as it should have been. There are no more club teams: club owners' say has been refused to the traditional sponsors role
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Interesting concept. Do any teams from one comp get promoted above other teams from the same comp?
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Brendan I believe that financially the best option is SR. Developmentally also. I believe NZs first choice is to have what they currently have. That doesnt mean there isnt other options.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
No idea. Maybe ask a saders fan
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Sunwolves was set up but the team owners refused to release players to the Sunwolves. The Club owners told the JRU they didn't want SR they wanted a domestic league. As a result the league was revamped. It was the owners who made the league happen.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
No. Because the JRU were setting up their own domestic competition, the one now known as the Japanese Rugby League!
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
NZ and RA won't give the Fiji Union a seat at the table. If they did I am sure the would have a PI spot. Believe it on not Bulls got the highest attendance since 2009 for a January afternoon game in Pretoria. Does Cricket not play over the hot months.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Because they saw how it brought nothing to them that they couldn't do themselves.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Champions Cup always has the best teams. Bulls are not the team they were last year and their 9-16th rank reflects this. But if you take Ulster they struggle alot more in Europe than Munster. Seems to work fine for promotion/regations or Champions League in soccer.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Agree with most of it. But NZ fans must either accept that the three countries are equal or the two leagues are equal. Japan know that they may not have the skill currently but they have the money so can spend it on a crossover with SRP or can do it with the USA. I am not sure what NZ brings to the table to say that they deserve to take an Oz place because the play in the same league but then say but Japan only get two spots even though their league is as big as SRP.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
It is what is holding back SR the solution to improvevJapan is always just give them a place or two in SR but they are building their own league and have no interest in being subject to SR. Not sure why SR seems unwilling to work with other leagues but give them a token team as the help.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Maybe look at this year when they had the same schedule as everyone else. In the URC only Stormers look assured of playoffs with Bulls and Sharks currently sitting 6th the 7th and only 2 & 3 points ahead of Ireland's 4th team. In Champions Cup Stormers and Sharks only finished 3rd in their group so away quarter finals. Its not so easy when they don't have all the rest weeks.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
It is why SRP needs to sort this out. Otherwise J1 will get alot more spots at the World Club championship compared to now. EPRC will take half and the other 8 will be made up of everywhere else. Rumour was SRP would get 7 which was very generous when you consider the 7 EPRC nations only had 8. It would seem now that J1 will get more than 1 unless a Pacific Cup cand be formed. Add in MLR as part of the push for the WC and SLAR wanting a spot, SRP spots start to get smaller and smaller.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
It's views like that that have resulted in SR going from 1st to 4th in the World for club leagues. Isolated leagues don't do ad well as league that intact with others.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
SA seems to be doing fine playing in December and January. Why is Febuary in Oz/NZ worse than Pertoria