SANZAR - Potential South African Secession

Potential South African Secession

In 2009 there emerged concerns that SARU might opt to breakaway from the alliance over a dispute about the proposed plan to expand Super Rugby to fifteen teams in 2011, voicing its support for the concept generally but disagreeing over its length and format. On 6 May 2009, however, ARU Chief Executive John O'Neill warned that the South Africans, would be the real losers, missing out altogether and potentially losing players, if they went ahead with the split. "The joint venture must remain intact," he urged. "I have dealt with the South Africans for years in business and sport. Part of their DNA is to take it to the brink. There's a moment when they will realise they have taken it far enough." On 20 May 2009, SANZAR announced it had reached agreement on a new deal involving all three nations. Details of the new deal are:

  • Effective in 2011, Super Rugby will expand to 15 teams, and split into three conferences, each with five teams and based in one of the three nations. The four current Australian teams will be joined by a new team in the Australia conference; this license was later awarded to the Melbourne Rebels.
  • At the same time, the regular season will expand to 16 matches (8 home, 8 away). Each team will play a double round-robin within its home conference, and play single matches against four teams from each of the other conferences.
  • The Super 15 will take three weeks off in June for the mid-year Tests.
  • The play-offs will expand to six teams, with the conference winners joined by the three non-winners with the most competition points without regard to conference affiliation. The two conference winners with the most competition points receive a first-round bye.
  • The Rugby Championship will open each year in South Africa, and conclude with two of the three Bledisloe Cup matches between Australia and New Zealand that fall within the Rugby Championship. This will allow Springboks to be released early for their domestic competition, the Currie Cup.

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