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All Blacks captain Sam Cane says New Zealand’s top rugby players are delighted with the trans-Tasman Super Rugby competition added to the rugby calendar for 2021.
Cane confirmed at his Captain’s Run press conference on Friday in Sydney that New Zealand players had pushed hard for additional competition to take place during the six weeks following the conclusion of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Months of bitterness ended on Friday when New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia announced a trans-Tasman Super Rugby competition for 2021.
The six-week competition was hosted by NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson and his Australian counterpart Rob Clarke in Sydney, a symbolic show of unity after a difficult period for Tasmania’s rugby relationship that was repeatedly described by RA President Hamish McLennan as in his final point. “lowest point”.
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson, left, talks to Rugby Australia Acting CEO Rob Clarke at Manly Beach in Sydney on Friday.
The competition, which will depend on teams being able to travel without the administered isolation procedures currently in place during the Covid-19 pandemic, will follow Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU competitions, with the Kiwi franchises playing each Australian franchise one. time before a final. between the two best teams.
“I think it’s amazing that we can open up and play against each other,” Cane said one day of the Three Nations event against Argentina in west Sydney.
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“I can’t imagine playing three rounds of hitting each other in New Zealand. It’s very exciting to have the opportunity to come here and play, and vice versa with them coming to New Zealand, ”he said.
Cane said that what all the players wanted was a trans-Tasman competition.
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Mark Robinson and Rob Clarke enjoy a walk on the beach in Sydney on Friday after announcing the new trans-Tasman Super Rugby competition.
“We (the players) work very closely with Rob Nichol and the Players Association, and they also do a good job with New Zealand Rugby.
“They knew as players that we want to play the Australian teams, so it’s a pretty good result.”
However, Cane was a bit more cautious when asked which of the two Super Rugby trophies on next year’s line would be more valuable.
“I haven’t really thought about it much… I guess Super Rugby Aotearoa could be a bit more difficult due to the fact that we have to play each other twice. But both will be important. Everybody wants to win, and there is an inaugural trophy, so it would be great to have the Chiefs on that. “
Each side will have two home games and two away games in the free-for-all phase, while the fifth will be part of a ‘Super Round’ with all Round 3 matches to be played in one place, during a Weekend.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
The Crusaders will begin their campaign with a game against the Brumbies.
The final will be played at the home field of the team that finishes at the top of the ranking.
In the first round on May 14-15, the Crusaders host the Brumbies, the Chiefs hit the road to play the Western Force, the Blues take on the Rebels in Melbourne, the Highlanders welcome the Reds and the Hurricanes go to Sydney to play the Waratahs.
“Super Rugby Trans-Tasman is a great result for fans on both sides of Tasman and is a testament to the strength of the relationship between New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia,” Robinson said in a statement.
“It has been a testing moment for rugby in both countries, but also an opportunity to reimagine the game in our part of the world for 2021. The result is an exciting and innovative new competition, which will benefit fans, players, broadcasters and Superclubs. “
Fundamentally, the competition means that New Zealand franchises will now have a minimum of six home games in Super Rugby Aotearoa and cross-competition in 2021, a number seen by Super Rugby CEOs as the minimum necessary to cover expenses.
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Ngani Laumape and the Hurricanes will travel to Sydney to face the Waratahs in Round 1.
The crossover competition in 2021 is likely to be the precursor to a full 12-team competition in 2022 involving five teams from New Zealand, five Australian teams, a team from Fiji and a team from Pasifika based in South Auckland. .
That competition will replace the “old” format of Super Rugby that involved teams from South Africa and Argentina, with South African teams indicating that they will join the Pro14 tournament in Europe.
The Rugby Championship involving the All Blacks, Australia, South Africa and Argentina will continue in its current guise, although Sanzaar has left the door open for international expansion, possibly including Japan and Fiji.
NZ Rugby and Rugby Australia have been at odds for months on the future of Super Rugby and the venue for the Rugby Championship.
Dianne Manson / Getty Images
The Highlanders will host the Reds in Dunedin in the first round of the competition.
NZ Rugby’s initial plan for an 8-10 team competition to take place ignited fury across the ditch and Rugby Australia refused to even consider cutting at least one of their teams.
Clarke said on Friday: “This is a truly historic day for rugby in the southern hemisphere, with Australia and New Zealand’s first ever Super Rugby competition.
“The Super Round is a great initiative with a city fortunate to host all 10 teams in a Super Rugby show that is sure to be a hit with fans on both sides of Tasmania.
“I would like to thank Mark Robinson and his team at New Zealand Rugby for working so closely with us. Let’s go to 2021. “
Full draw
Round one (May 14-15)
Crusaders vs. Brumbies; Western Force vs. Chiefs; Melbourne Rebels v Blues; Highlanders vs. Queensland Reds; NSW Waratahs v Hurricanes
Second round (May 21-22)
Chiefs vs. Brumbies; Western force against mountaineers; Hurricanes vs. Melbourne Rebels; Queensland Reds vs. Crusaders; Blues v NSW Waratahs
Phil Walter / Getty Images
The Blues will play the Rebels in the first game – they lost to the Australians in their most recent game in 2018.
Third Round – Super Round (May 28-29)
Blues against Brumbies; Hurricanes vs. Western Force; Melbourne Rebels vs. Highlanders; Queensland Reds vs. Chiefs; NSW Waratahs v Crusaders
Round four (June 4-5)
Brumbies v Hurricanes; Crusaders vs. Western Force; Chiefs vs. Melbourne Rebels, Queensland Reds vs. Blues; Highlanders v NSW Waratahs
Round five (June 11-12)
Brumbies vs. Highlanders; Blues against Western Force; Melbourne Rebels v Crusaders; Hurricanes vs. Queensland Reds; NSW Waratahs v Chiefs
Final (Saturday, June 19)
