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Wellington - Hurricanes captain Dane Coles has criticised Super Rugby's new format saying it's unfair that New Zealand teams have to play each other twice.
The All Blacks hooker said playing in a New Zealand derby was similar to a Test and it wasn't fair that they have to play in eight matches like that during a campaign.
"Playing against New Zealand teams twice in one year is pretty tough," Coles told Newstalk ZB.
"Moving forward, if we want to see New Zealand teams win the competition, then playing the Kiwi teams once will be enough."
Coles said he understands that Sanzaar want to create a global product, but feels it's better to have a tougher competition than a larger one.
"You want quality sides in the competition to make it the best competition in the world," he added.
"Just keeping it simple is better. We don't need to over-complicate things."
Coles prefers the old Super Rugby format where the tournament's play-offs were determined by the sides who finished in the top positions on the overall table.
"Yeah, you play every team once, and the top eight qualify and you're away laughing," he said.
"That's the way I'd like it."
