Amid "concern about the future direction of Super Rugby, South Africa has emerged as the driving force for change," according to Bret Harris of THE AUSTRALIAN. But "whether any revamp of the competition structure results in the scrapping of one of Australia’s five teams remains to be seen." SANZAAR held an exec meeting in Sydney over the past two days, involving 80 stakeholders, "to discuss where the competition was headed." Super Rugby’s expansion to 18 teams, bringing in Argentina, Japan and a sixth South African side, "has created confusion for fans, who have found it difficult to follow the multi-conference, multi-group format." But it is understood South Africa is "particularly concerned after being divided into two conferences," which include the Argentinian Jaguars in one and the Japanese Sunwolves in the other. Sources close to SANZAAR said that the South Africans "would prefer to revert to a 15-team competition without Argentina, Japan and even one of their own franchises." It was South Africa’s "insistence on the inclusion of the Port Elizabeth-based Kings to promote black rugby that contributed to the expansion of the competition." The Sunwolves, Jaguars and Kings "were disappointing this season and there has been speculation about whether Australia has sufficient player depth to carry five teams." It would be "politically difficult to cut teams, particularly in Argentina and Japan," but a reduction in the number of franchises "could become an economic necessity if having too many teams affects the quality of the play" or becomes a financial burden. SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos said, "Discussions took place on many aspects of the tournament including, but not limited to, tournament structure and finals series, travel, broadcasting, tournament rules, match officiating, judicial and the 2017 match schedule" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/14).
