New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia extend Super Rugby Pacific deal until 2030
Super Rugby Pacific has been locked in until 2030
©PA
New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia have jointly agreed to extend the Super Rugby Pacific deal until 2030.
The decision arrives after months of negotiations between the two boards with the Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan threatening to set up a domestic competition.
Nevertheless, NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson announced the news in Sydney on Friday while revealing that the existing format will be retained.
“There was obviously conversations, and they were no different than what was in public, around commercial value and creating a fair and equitable split around value,” Robinson said on Friday.
“And there were issues where possibly both unions were at different stages around things like format, player transfers, player eligibility, drafts, salary caps.
“A lot of instances where it’s too soon to get too involved in detail around a lot of those competition mechanisms. So, some of those things have been parked and they'll be picked up by the JV [joint venture] board and national unions.”
Meanwhile, it was also announced that the Super Rugby Pacific will have nine person board members that will include an independent chair, four independent directors, and one representative each from NZ Rugby, RA, the New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA) and the Rugby Union Players’ Association (RUPA).
Robinson also said the two boards are exploring an opportunity for trans-Tasman women's competition considering the success of the recently concluded home World Cup which was clinched by the Black Ferns.
“Our view is that we’d like to get into a more integrated, long format around the professional club game for women sooner rather than later,” Robinson added.
“But we acknowledge and respect the fact that Rugby Australia might want to take a little bit more with that.”
