Sanzar alliance weakens further

Australia and New Zealand are making plans to ditch South Africa in the Super Rugby expansion.

The squabbles between Sanzar have been widely publicised as the three nations can’t find common ground. The Sydney Morning Herald says although officials won’t comment on the matter, it is ‘known high-level work on the proposal has begun’.

If the Australasians had to break away, the competition would have five teams from each country as well as several based in Japan.

The proposed Super 15 expansion is set for 2011, but details regarding the re-modeling of the competition have not been agreed on as the 30 June deadline with the broadcasters looms.

Andy Marinos and Oregan Hoskins have both said Saru will not bow to the demands of the Australasians as they refuse to devalue the Currie Cup and are not keen to start the competition in March.

Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O’Neill yesterday admitted Sanzar was ‘confronting some major issues, because all three of us aren’t on the same page’.

O’Neill wants a 15-team competition with three conferences as all the sides play each other once. Then conferences would play local derbies ending in six team finals in a competition lasting 22 weeks.

However, Saru put forward the ‘Sandton option’, that would see a 16-week tournament as all the teams don’t meet as they play cross-conference.

This would also include a break in June for Tests, but O’Neill says this isn’t an option as they hope to have Tests held midweek.

‘The clock is ticking, said O’Neill. ‘Australia and New Zealand were willing to accept the Sandton option as a form of middle ground, even though it is far from ideal.

‘We didn’t want to start early February, don’t want to break in June, and the Currie Cup provinces just have to accept there has to be an overlap,’ he said.

‘Everyone has been willing to compromise, but there comes a point where any further compromise just undermines the integrity of the competition. We have shifted ground to agree on the Sandton option, but the options attached to it are not acceptable.

‘A competition where everyone doesn’t play each other is in itself a bit of a worry.

‘But if that’s a way of getting us across the line, we could do it for a couple of years, as South Africa have been saying that by 2013 they could move to our option.’

Hoskins told SA Rugby Magazine last month Saru are not willing to be bullied and that they couldn’t count out a move to northern hemisphere competitions.

‘We have never truly explored heading north, because we’re faithful to the Sanzar alliance,’ said Hoskins. ‘But we mustn’t be naive and think we can’t go to Europe and we must explore the options that would suit our best interests.’

[Keo]