Rugby Australia (RA) and New Zealand Rugby (NZR) have confirmed the future of Super Rugby, signing a deal that will keep them together until 2030.
The competition saw a re-think in 2022 with the formation of 'Super Rugby Pacific' involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji along with Moana Pasifika.
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The partnership ensures Super Rugby will continue for the foreseeable future, introducing a new board to oversees the venture that includes members from NZR, RA, New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA) along with Rugby Union Players’ Association (RUPA).
This will be governed by an independent Chairperson as both sides express their delight at securing the future of the competition
“Today marks the dawn of a new era of Super Rugby within our region," RA CEO Andy Marinos said in a statement.
"Securing this long-term partnership provides stability and continuity that the competition and Super Rugby clubs need to enable Rugby to grow in stature and importance across the region.
“RA and NZR are committed to the development of the most exciting form of Rugby in the world, through trialling and implementing new rules, new ways of engaging fans and broadcast innovations with our partners.
"The partnership will enable our players, clubs and partners to plan ahead with certainty in a competition that we are sure will feature some of the best Rugby in the world."
“This long-term agreement provides certainty for players, coaches, fans, sponsors and broadcast partners and it solidifies our joint commitment to ensuring Super Rugby Pacific is the most entertaining, innovative, and fan-focused cross-border club competition in the world," NZR counterpart Mark Robinson added.
"We charted a new path with the introduction of Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua this year, and having all 91 games played in regional time zones, and believe we have entered an exciting new era for rugby in the Pacific region.”
Both RA and NZR also confirmed they will 'continue to look at options to adapt and adjust over time', with the potential to expand beyond 12 teams a possibility.
This comes with an agreement surrounding the revenue sharing between the parties until their current broadcast deals expire in 2025.
Along with this, a combined Super W and Super Rugby Aupiki will be explored, building off the success of Rugby World Cup 2021.
“We saw the quality of women’s rugby throughout the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and while it is not a case of copy and paste with the men’s structure in Super Rugby Pacific, we believe there are enormous opportunities to build a world class cross border professional women’s club competition in the Pacific region," Robinson added.
