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Brett Impey. (Photo by Dave Rowland / Getty Images)
The president of Sanzaar, Brett Impey, resigned Tuesday calling for the southern hemisphere’s governing body for rugby open its membership to developing rugby nations around the world.
Impey proposed a radical overhaul that could see the creation of a bloc to rival the power of the northern hemisphere giants of the game by expanding beyond current members Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina.
The New Zealander said potential candidates could include Japan, Romania, Georgia, Pacific island nations, as well as American countries such as Uruguay, Brazil and Canada.
“Outside of Europe, there are opportunities to develop the game, so Sanzaar should welcome those countries as members and create competitions that will allow countries like Japan and Fiji to progress to the next level,” he told reporters.
Impey unveiled his global vision after announcing that he will step down as president of Sanzaar on December 31, saying the position had brought conflicts of interest with his other position as president of Rugby New Zealand.
Sanzaar was created in 1996 to manage the Super Rugby franchise competition and the test tournament now known as the Rugby Championship, but Impey said it was now “out of date”.
He said Sanzaar should abandon Super Rugby and take an international approach, a process that already appears to be underway as Australia and New Zealand discuss the details of a trans-Tasmania competition without the governing body.
Impey said expanding Sanzaar’s international membership would allow it to more effectively drive change on issues such as a unified global calendar and second-tier developing nations.
He has long criticized the nations of the Northern Hemisphere for stalling significant reform to grow the game and admitted that his vision of Sanzaar would create a powerful rival grouping.
“I think that puts it in pretty black and white terms, but I think countries outside of Europe should act as a bloc to see development,” he said.
The plan, which Impey said was supported by NZR and had been discussed in Sanzaar, could see the expansion of the Rugby Championship and the creation of new competitions for developing nations.
They would include promotions and descents, allowing the minnows a path to play through the established powers of rugby as they improve.
Impey didn’t put a timescale on the concept.
Sanzaar’s last major expansion push involved Super Rugby and ended in failure as the competition spiraled into a disjointed competition of 18 teams spread across 16 time zones.
The governing body was still trying to repair the damage with format changes when the global pandemic halted competition from five nations earlier this year.
Sanzaar thanked Impey for his work and said he was looking to hire an independent president, as recommended by the outgoing New Zealander.
