Oh Dear, Have SARU shot themselves in the foot in their pursuit of a 6th Super franchise ?

Super Rugby is on the verge of its biggest ever expansion, with at least one and up to five new teams set to join the competition from 2016.

SANZAR this week confirmed South Africa would field a sixth permanent team when the new broadcasting deal takes effect for the 2016 season, ending a farcical promotion-relegation arrangement that saw the Southern Kings booted out after just one season. But with Argentina desperate to enter its own franchise and the SANZAR nations of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia happy to welcome them, it is looking increasingly likely that Super Rugby will expand to at least 17 teams in two years' time.

The expansion won't stop there. New Zealand has made it clear it wants the opportunity to bid for an extra team, and SANZAR plans to test the market in Asia and in Africa, believing a competition with up to 20 teams would be ideal. The two-conference model is also gaining momentum. A meeting of the member union bosses in Sydney this week ended with broad in-principle agreement that a two-conference model – with South Africa and Argentina on one side and Australasia on the other – is the front-runner for the format of the competition going forward.

Such a model would include the six South African teams in one conference alongside one Argentinian team and an eighth side, possibly also from Argentina or Africa.

The other conference would include the 10 current Australian and New Zealand teams, a sixth New Zealand team and possibly a Japanese franchise.

The conferences would not play each other in the regular season but come together for a finals series to determine the top southern hemisphere team.

SANZAR believes Japan's entry to the competition is inevitable, factoring in the momentum likely to be generated leading up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup there. Japan also has an established and popular domestic competition.

 old news, see various threads below

 So, it looks like SANZARs solution to accommodate the inclusion of another cellar dwelling Saffa team is to split the competition into 2 separate conferences.  NZ, Australia, Japan and a Pacifika team in one conference Vs SA and Argentina in the other.

Lol!  So this is SARUs great boardroom victory huh?  A conference with themselves and a couple Argentinian sides minus the majority of their Pumas players due to NH contracts.  Meanwhile, the ANZACs and a Pacifika team will get to play in one of the largest emerging rugby markets in the world (think RWC 2019) playing the best running rugby the world has to offer. SA and ArgIes bogged down in the quagmire of dour,10 man yawnfests.  

 Yeah red, I'm just amazed the 2 conference system being proposed by the SANZAR fat cats hasn't met more resistance by SAn rugby supporters nor has it sparked any meaningful debate on the forum. It's a big deal and will have some serious repurcussions for SAn rugby.  I believe some folks here either think its just not going to happen OR they hope SARU will have the red carpet laid out for them by the rumoured Anglo-Franco duopoly. 

Anyways, great to finally agree on something red.  Happy elections for tomorrow.  Looks to be all sewn up by Abbott already but we'll have to wait and see.  

thats pretty much it nuke and while sharkbok says its old news, its not really, the main points of discussion in the other thread was SARU threatning to leave not this format.

personally i think a 6th NZ team would be a waste of time, except if the two tier conference does go ahead. i do think that the japanese club needs to be involved big time, the money from those cats in the land of the rising sun would be immense.

it would suck to lose out on the international battles though, who the hell dosent like a stormers vs crusaders match???
and while travelling might have lost its novelty to a few of the elder statesmen, the young guns have a different opinon.
when folau was on rugby HQ, he was asked about was there a specific moment where he knew he would be signing up with the ARU and he replied, it was while he was on the waratahs trip to SA, it was a real buzz for him and he loved every minute of it.

still player welfars is important and a viable comeptition, dont know why they just dont have a conference system but split it up between the best of the best in a tier one and the rest in a tier 2, that way we get less games, the same international flavour more or less.

but theres no doubt about, 98% of the rugby everyone wants to wtach is in NZ and OZ, with the other 2% depending on who the cheetahs are playing.

 Nuked for once gets it right. Daft system with zero appeal.If thats whats on offer rather go the NH route.

All this just to fullful racial quotas!!!! The Kings in any event were as white as any other SA rugby side. Its madness. WE are being destroyed by the race obsessed anc politicians

I do note there is no mention of the PI. nz and oz clearly want to continue the exploitation.