The boss of Australia's "most powerful province" is demanding a "louder voice for Super Rugby clubs" on the future of the 18-team competition, according to Georgina Robinson of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Waratahs CEO Andrew Hore has called on the Australian Rugby Union to "consult more often with its stakeholders, who are forced to play in the cumbersome Super Rugby competition." Hore "did not specify how this would take place," but presumably a permanent spot on the SANZAAR exec committee, which is comprised of the CEOs and chairs of the four member nations, "would be the place to start." Under the current model, the Super Rugby clubs "are denied a formal presence at the decision-making table, leaving the national unions to make decisions on their behalf." The ARU funds each province using the proceeds of its five-year broadcast deal, "but the provinces themselves come up with the shortfall." Hore said that he wanted to "challenge the widely-held belief" that only the Wallabies can "make the game any money," but needed the power to "change the Waratahs' off-field circumstances." Hore: "I think our union is still looking at it as international rugby being the be-all and end-all, where I think the rest of the world has moved on a bit in their mentality. They know we can get money in to feed our game through professional rugby and also through the international game" (SMH, 11/28).
