Mining magnate and rugby philanthropist Andrew Forrest "remains hopeful" teams from western Sydney and New Zealand will join World Series Rugby despite the national unions from those countries "ruling out such a step" until at least '20, according to Georgina Robinson of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Forrest's vision for an eight-team competition with a A$1M ($711,870) prize purse was "delivered a significant setback last month" when Rugby Australia and its counterpart in New Zealand indicated they "would not support his plan" to get a team each in western Sydney and New Zealand in time for the '19 season kickoff in March. With the new Super Rugby agreement to start in '21 and the global calendar on a similar time frame, RA and NSW Rugby "want more time to work out how a second professional team playing in a different competition would work in the existing landscape." But World Series organizers believed a '20 timeline was "feasible." A spokesperson said, "(Forrest's company) Minderoo is in ongoing discussions with both Rugby Australia and Rugby NSW in relation to the establishment of a WSR team in Western Sydney. RA and NSWRU have discussed with Minderoo the possibility of establishing the Western Sydney team in 2020 instead of 2019 to allow them to do what they believe is the required planning to ensure the team is successful and integrates into the NSW rugby system" (SMH, 10/11).
