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Andy Marinos (Getty Images)
Sanzaar director Andy Marinos admitted on Monday that Super Rugby it sowed the seeds of its own demise when it launched an ambitious expansion plan for southern hemisphere competition.
Marinos also raised questions about whether a planned trans-Tasmanian competition would be held next year, and admitted that the future of the competition was out of Sanzaar’s hands.
The governing body oversaw Super Rugby’s expansion from the initial 10 teams in 1995 to a peak of 18 in 2016, despite complaints from fans that the cross-world competition had lost its intensity and had become too difficult to handle. follow.
Marinos admitted that the criticisms were correct and that Super Rugby had deviated from the original formula that once considered it the best rugby competition in the world.
“That (original formula) was to provide a very fast, short and impactful high-level competition structure that complements the domestic structure in each of the countries, does not take over the domestic structures,” he told New Zealand. Websit stuffme.
Commenting on the best model for the future of Super Rugby, Marinos said: “I still believe that our best solution was in the 10-12 team competition structure.”
New Zealand Rugby has proposed an eight to 10 team structure for Super Rugby next year that includes the existing five Kiwi teams, two to four from Australia and one newcomer from the Pacific.
However, Marinos said the border restrictions that halted this year’s Super Rugby season, which forced New Zealand and Australia to submit their own national versions, may prevent it from going forward.
“We are receiving very strong indications that the borders will not be open, or freely accessible, in the first quarter of next year,” he said.
Regardless, he said the future of Super Rugby would not be determined by Sanzaar.
“That is a question for New Zealand Rugby … we coordinate on behalf of the unions and there are different views among Sanzaar partners on what might be possible in the future,” he said.
He endorsed Rugby Australia’s proposal for a “Super Eight” mini-tournament, involving the best franchises from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and possibly Japan in a Champions League-style playoff.
But he admitted that there were no certainties in the current environment.
“It’s like most things, we live in an unpredictable environment and there is a lot of speculation,” he said.
“I’m really focused on maintaining the Sanzaar alliance and getting some normalcy back in our competition structures at this stage.”
Meanwhile, on the local front, South Africa is now strongly Linked to field teams on an expanded PRO16 in Europe.
