Share

Tew: Super Rugby must keep expanding

Wellington - Further expansion of Super Rugby is inevitable, according to New Zealand rugby boss Steve Tew, despite the current model being criticised as unwieldy and difficult to follow.

The southern hemisphere championship has grown from 12 sides from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa in 1996 to 18 teams this year when it spread to Japan and Argentina.

But Tew, the New Zealand Rugby chief executive, said the competition will have to grow more if it is to survive.

"If we want to play professional rugby, we can't just play ourselves -- we will go out of business very quickly," he told Radio Sport on Thursday from London, where he is attending a meeting of World Rugby.

"When we go to the next set of broadcasting deals we've got to be sure we've got a footprint in South America, that we've got a footprint in Asia, and possibly other markets or we will go bust, because we continue to compete against the clubs up here."

In its formative years, Super Rugby was a round-robin competition with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals.

But from 2011 there has been a conference system which this year has grown to four conferences, with the winners guaranteed the top four places in an eight-team play-off.

Although four New Zealand teams top the overall points tally, because of the conference system they are currently ranked first, fifth, sixth and seventh.

One of the harshest critics of expansion has been former Australia coach Eddie Jones, who is now at the helm of England.

"I watch most of the (Super Rugby) games but some of the games put me to sleep," he said recently.

"I don't think the standard's great this year. Having 18 teams in the competition, it's really dropped the standards."

Prominent New Zealand rugby columnist Phil Gifford said Super Rugby "has now been diluted and complicated".

"New Zealand players smash each other to bits while the two South African-dominated conference teams, for example, can enjoy the luxury of cruising ahead of mediocre teams," he said.

The new teams this year - Sunwolves (Japan), Jaguares (Argentina) and Southern Kings (South Africa) - have been placed in the two Africa conferences and between them have won just four of 27 games, with the Kings conceding on average 46 points per game.

However, Tew said while the conference structure was complex and not perfect, it did lay a foundation for the future.

"We've set this conference structure up so that future expansion will be possible and more sensible in terms of travel and workload, but we've got to break into new markets," he said.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1473 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2252 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE