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Australia's radical plan to revitalise Super rugby are only in the preliminary stage at Sanzar level according to New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew.
The plans, revealed by Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill, propose a 6½-month tournament, more local derbies, a six-team final series and a new side in Tokyo.
While O'Neill revealed high-level discussions had begun to dramatically revamp the Super 14 tournament in a way which would delight television broadcasters, spectators and the provinces, which are demanding more home games, Tew said it wouldn't necessarily get agreement from NZ or South Africa which had domestic competitions to cater for.
"John has floated one option that would clearly suit the Australian set of circumstances, probably better than ourselves or South Africa," he said today.
"The NZRU has made a commitment inside the Sanzar organisation to have a very open mind as to what the next version of Super rugby might look like.
"There are any number of things we would need to consider, though, in terms of finding our position."
Tew agreed Japan harboured enormous commercial clout but the needs of Argentina, the Pacific islands and, ultimately, North America still needed consideration.
"There needs to be a more strategic look at how Super rugby might unfold," Tew said. "We wouldn't dismiss John's thoughts out of hand... we see the gateway to Asia as being important.
"But there's also a considerable amount of talking and thinking and analysing and assessment to be done before we would favour one or other of any expansion of Super rugby."
Tew said New Zealand's view would be shaped to a degree by a provincial union forum in two weeks which will " map out what the future of what New Zealand rugby will look like".
The plan would expand the Super season from 16 weeks to 26 weeks.
The revamped tournament, based on the addition of at least one more team, would be in a two-round format. The first round would be like the present Super 14, in which teams play each other once. The second round would feature "local derbies" among the home teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Then the final series, most likely to involve the top six teams, would be held over the next month, extending the tournament from February to late August. The Tri-Nations series would be held straight after the Super tournament, with domestic tests involving the northern hemisphere countries likely to be played midweek.
And O'Neill wants the Super tournament extended to a fourth country, as he believes the lucrative Japanese market would provide the competition with a considerable financial boost.
"We are very serious about Japan," he said.
"We want to really accelerate Japan's move into the proper professional era. There is the possibility of a Bledisloe Cup being played in Tokyo, a Pacific Rim tournament, and a team based in Japan playing in Super rugby.
"We're trying to expand Super rugby to 26 weeks. And the possibility of joint venturing a team in Japan, with half the team Japanese and the other half foreign players - predominantly Australian - is worth a look."
The dramatic increase in product would appease broadcasters when Sanzar renegotiates the TV deal in 2010, and O'Neill believes the teams will be enticed by the extra home games, which so many provinces rely on as their prime financial source.
Local derbies will also delight the Tri-Nations test coaches, as they will provide strong selection trials just before the internationals.
"What's in it for the franchises in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand is that they all get a significant increase in home games," O'Neill said.
"In the AFL and NRL, the teams don't actually play each other twice. This is a version of a round and a half, where the second round are local derbies. Then we go to a really big final series, which would be promoted almost as a new product. We could really pump up that finals series, so it becomes a serious knockout competition."
O'Neill, meanwhile, expects to announce the replacement for the ARU's high-performance unit manager Pat Howard by the end of next month. Former Wallaby and current Auckland Blues coach David Nucifora remains on top of the ARU hit list.
The ARU will also next week reply to a letter from the 22 NSW and Queensland clubs demanding the national body continues full funding of premier rugby next year.
"We've got the letter," O'Neill said.
"We're taking it seriously and we will be responding. There are a number of factual errors in the letter, which we will correct. Funding is only one issue that pertains to club rugby.
"There are many other issues we need to address together with the NSW and Queensland rugby unions to ensure club rugby's positioning in the hierarchy is appropriate."
New Zealand has attempted to hose it down, but Australian provinces and the players' union are firmly behind a proposal to expand the Super 14 tournament, including more local derbies and a new team based in Tokyo.
As revealed by Fairfax Media yesterday, Australian Rugby Union chief and SANZAR director John O'Neill has been involved in discussions to dramatically revamp the tournament to please television broadcasters, spectators and provinces, who are demanding more home games.
The new tournament, based on the addition of at least one team and expanded from 16 weeks to 26 weeks, would be over two rounds. The first round would be largely unchanged with teams playing each other once. The second round would comprise derbies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. A finals series, most likely to involve the top six teams, would be held over the next month.
The new team is likely to be a joint Japan-Australia venture based in Tokyo.
The New Zealand Rugby Union was yesterday cautious about providing support, with O'Neill's counterpart, Steve Tew, arguing the proposals were at a preliminary stage.
"John has floated one option that would clearly suit the Australian set of circumstances, probably better than ourselves or South Africa. We wouldn't dismiss John's thoughts out of hand ... we see the gateway to Asia as being important," Tew said.
The response in Australia was far more positive. Australian provinces, who rely heavily on home matches as a source of revenue, see this proposal as a way to improve their often hazardous financial positions, as well as appeasing fans.
As ACT Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan said yesterday: "We're in complete support. In order to be effective in the most competitive football market in the world - with four different codes - we need to go head-to-head on quantity as well as quality," he said.
"With such a short season, it is hard to capture the hearts and minds of our supporter base. We need to do that through a larger number of games, particularly home games, which are attractive financially. You have an issue at the moment where if you lose a few games early, it is tough to maintain interest because of the combination of a short season, and a very small finals series.
"We need to make some changes to freshen up the competition. We've had the experimental law variations this year, which have helped, and we've got to continue to look at new things, and this proposal would truly enable us to go head to head with rugby league and the AFL."
"In the NRL and AFL, teams can lose games early, yet their support base remains solid, because they have a large finals series, and there's a chance of teams finishing strongly to get into the finals," Fagan said. "You need to have at least a top six."
Queensland Rugby Union chairman Peter Lewis said it was imperative the season was expanded: "The Queensland rugby fans get seven home games this year, and then the season's over. It's nonsense," Lewis said.
"We will support any initiative to increase the amount of product we can get out there - as much for our fans. We've been pushing for something like this for some time, and I'm thrilled the ARU have picked it up."
NSW Rugby Union chairman Arvid Petersen added that just six home games and two Tests in Sydney this year is "certainly not enough professional rugby in this city to compete with the NRL and AFL".
"We need more games to get the right return for our investment," Petersen said.
The proposal also has the Rugby Union Players' Association's support.
"If it makes the game more attractive to broadcasters and spectators, and means we can compete with the AFL and NRL on a more even footing, it can only be a good thing," RUPA chief executive Tony Dempsey said yesterday.
The plans, revealed by Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill, propose a 6½-month tournament, more local derbies, a six-team final series and a new side in Tokyo.
While O'Neill revealed high-level discussions had begun to dramatically revamp the Super 14 tournament in a way which would delight television broadcasters, spectators and the provinces, which are demanding more home games, Tew said it wouldn't necessarily get agreement from NZ or South Africa which had domestic competitions to cater for.
"John has floated one option that would clearly suit the Australian set of circumstances, probably better than ourselves or South Africa," he said today.
"The NZRU has made a commitment inside the Sanzar organisation to have a very open mind as to what the next version of Super rugby might look like.
"There are any number of things we would need to consider, though, in terms of finding our position."
Tew agreed Japan harboured enormous commercial clout but the needs of Argentina, the Pacific islands and, ultimately, North America still needed consideration.
"There needs to be a more strategic look at how Super rugby might unfold," Tew said. "We wouldn't dismiss John's thoughts out of hand... we see the gateway to Asia as being important.
"But there's also a considerable amount of talking and thinking and analysing and assessment to be done before we would favour one or other of any expansion of Super rugby."
Tew said New Zealand's view would be shaped to a degree by a provincial union forum in two weeks which will " map out what the future of what New Zealand rugby will look like".
The plan would expand the Super season from 16 weeks to 26 weeks.
The revamped tournament, based on the addition of at least one more team, would be in a two-round format. The first round would be like the present Super 14, in which teams play each other once. The second round would feature "local derbies" among the home teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Then the final series, most likely to involve the top six teams, would be held over the next month, extending the tournament from February to late August. The Tri-Nations series would be held straight after the Super tournament, with domestic tests involving the northern hemisphere countries likely to be played midweek.
And O'Neill wants the Super tournament extended to a fourth country, as he believes the lucrative Japanese market would provide the competition with a considerable financial boost.
"We are very serious about Japan," he said.
"We want to really accelerate Japan's move into the proper professional era. There is the possibility of a Bledisloe Cup being played in Tokyo, a Pacific Rim tournament, and a team based in Japan playing in Super rugby.
"We're trying to expand Super rugby to 26 weeks. And the possibility of joint venturing a team in Japan, with half the team Japanese and the other half foreign players - predominantly Australian - is worth a look."
The dramatic increase in product would appease broadcasters when Sanzar renegotiates the TV deal in 2010, and O'Neill believes the teams will be enticed by the extra home games, which so many provinces rely on as their prime financial source.
Local derbies will also delight the Tri-Nations test coaches, as they will provide strong selection trials just before the internationals.
"What's in it for the franchises in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand is that they all get a significant increase in home games," O'Neill said.
"In the AFL and NRL, the teams don't actually play each other twice. This is a version of a round and a half, where the second round are local derbies. Then we go to a really big final series, which would be promoted almost as a new product. We could really pump up that finals series, so it becomes a serious knockout competition."
O'Neill, meanwhile, expects to announce the replacement for the ARU's high-performance unit manager Pat Howard by the end of next month. Former Wallaby and current Auckland Blues coach David Nucifora remains on top of the ARU hit list.
The ARU will also next week reply to a letter from the 22 NSW and Queensland clubs demanding the national body continues full funding of premier rugby next year.
"We've got the letter," O'Neill said.
"We're taking it seriously and we will be responding. There are a number of factual errors in the letter, which we will correct. Funding is only one issue that pertains to club rugby.
"There are many other issues we need to address together with the NSW and Queensland rugby unions to ensure club rugby's positioning in the hierarchy is appropriate."
New Zealand has attempted to hose it down, but Australian provinces and the players' union are firmly behind a proposal to expand the Super 14 tournament, including more local derbies and a new team based in Tokyo.
As revealed by Fairfax Media yesterday, Australian Rugby Union chief and SANZAR director John O'Neill has been involved in discussions to dramatically revamp the tournament to please television broadcasters, spectators and provinces, who are demanding more home games.
The new tournament, based on the addition of at least one team and expanded from 16 weeks to 26 weeks, would be over two rounds. The first round would be largely unchanged with teams playing each other once. The second round would comprise derbies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. A finals series, most likely to involve the top six teams, would be held over the next month.
The new team is likely to be a joint Japan-Australia venture based in Tokyo.
The New Zealand Rugby Union was yesterday cautious about providing support, with O'Neill's counterpart, Steve Tew, arguing the proposals were at a preliminary stage.
"John has floated one option that would clearly suit the Australian set of circumstances, probably better than ourselves or South Africa. We wouldn't dismiss John's thoughts out of hand ... we see the gateway to Asia as being important," Tew said.
The response in Australia was far more positive. Australian provinces, who rely heavily on home matches as a source of revenue, see this proposal as a way to improve their often hazardous financial positions, as well as appeasing fans.
As ACT Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan said yesterday: "We're in complete support. In order to be effective in the most competitive football market in the world - with four different codes - we need to go head-to-head on quantity as well as quality," he said.
"With such a short season, it is hard to capture the hearts and minds of our supporter base. We need to do that through a larger number of games, particularly home games, which are attractive financially. You have an issue at the moment where if you lose a few games early, it is tough to maintain interest because of the combination of a short season, and a very small finals series.
"We need to make some changes to freshen up the competition. We've had the experimental law variations this year, which have helped, and we've got to continue to look at new things, and this proposal would truly enable us to go head to head with rugby league and the AFL."
"In the NRL and AFL, teams can lose games early, yet their support base remains solid, because they have a large finals series, and there's a chance of teams finishing strongly to get into the finals," Fagan said. "You need to have at least a top six."
Queensland Rugby Union chairman Peter Lewis said it was imperative the season was expanded: "The Queensland rugby fans get seven home games this year, and then the season's over. It's nonsense," Lewis said.
"We will support any initiative to increase the amount of product we can get out there - as much for our fans. We've been pushing for something like this for some time, and I'm thrilled the ARU have picked it up."
NSW Rugby Union chairman Arvid Petersen added that just six home games and two Tests in Sydney this year is "certainly not enough professional rugby in this city to compete with the NRL and AFL".
"We need more games to get the right return for our investment," Petersen said.
The proposal also has the Rugby Union Players' Association's support.
"If it makes the game more attractive to broadcasters and spectators, and means we can compete with the AFL and NRL on a more even footing, it can only be a good thing," RUPA chief executive Tony Dempsey said yesterday.
