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Cape Town - South African Rugby Players
Association (SARPA) CEO Piet Heymans says the need for a Super 18 could arise as the
International Rugby Board (IRB) tries to improve player welfare and safeguard
the future of the game.
The International Rugby Players' Association (IRPA) and the IRB met on Wednesday to discuss a proposal for a global rugby season from 2016.
IRPA recently called on the IRB to make changes from the 2016 season that
would help all Test playing nations pick their best players.
IRPA wants to move the June Test window back to the end of July, allowing the
Southern Hemisphere-based players to finish the Super Rugby season, while those
in Europe would start their domestic campaigns later, possibly October. There
will also be a shortened Super Rugby competition, from the end of March to
early July.
Heymans feels the proposed changes can only be good for the game.
"The nice thing would be that players will get a long rest period when
they return from the year-end tour in November," he told Die Burger's website.
"The idea is to shorten the Super Rugby competition by three weeks and to
only start with it at the end of March.
"They would probably need to look at a Super 18 with six teams for South
Africa and New Zealand and teams from other countries.
"In that case the tournament would be structured in such a way that fewer
matches are played.
"The message coming from players and fans is that there is simply too much
rugby being played," said Heymans.
Should a Super 18 be formed, there will likely be two groups of nine each, which would lead to less matches being played.
Heymans though admitted a lot of water still needs to pass under the bridge for that
to happen, but he's positive about a change in current scheduling.
"The English aren't against it, and the French are open for discussions.
That's already a positive.
"There will obviously also be negotiations with broadcasters. A 'less is
more' principle would need to be established. If we can achieve that then we'll
get more fans at games."
