Super Rugby to expand to 18 teams with Asia in the mix
ARU reveals ‘strong preference’ for Asian team to join ‘Super 18’ in 2016
The Super Rugby competition will expand to 18 teams in 2016, with three new clubs coming from South Africa, Argentina and possibly Asia or the United States, officials said on Thursday.
New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said a revamp was needed in the southern hemisphere competition, which currently includes five teams from each of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
He said the expansion, which has been approved by governing body Sanzar, would meet South African demands for a sixth team and help establish elite professional rugby in Argentina.
Our strong preference is for the 18th team to come from Asia. We believe this will attract significant commercial opportunities for us in the future
The addition of an 18th team would also take the game to new markets, he said. "There's interest on the west coast of America, there's interest in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan," Tew said, adding that discussions were already under way with credible potential bidders for the groundbreaking franchise.
Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver said the plan gave Super Rugby "the potential to become a truly global competition".
"Our strong preference is for the 18th team to come from Asia. We believe this will attract significant commercial opportunities for us in the future," he said.
Under the new blueprint, the competition will be split into two regional groupings, South Africa and Australasia, each containing two conferences.