http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/opinion...rugby-challenge
Sanzar facing big Super rugby challenge
By DUNCAN JOHNSTONE
Sanzar needs to come up with some imagination as it seeks to add a new team to a Super 15 rugby championship â€" but don't hold your breath. News out of a Sanzar meeting in Dubai that the governing body which runs the three-way rugby collective between New Zealand, Australia and South Africa are pushing on with expansion plans should be greeted with guarded optimism at best.
The organisation doesn't exactly have a marvellous track record.
The admittance that they were pushing forward with plans from a meeting in Perth last year is a concern in itself.
That same meeting in July had agreed in principle to expanding a playoffs system for this year's Super 14. But by October they had abandoned those plans simply because they couldn't agree on a formula.
The trouble with Sanzar is that, like many things in life, operating in a three-way system isn't always easy.
Sanzar rules dictate that it's all or nothing. Any decision must be unanimous. A majority 2-1 verdict doesn't wash.
And there is a lot of self-interest here.
Australia needs more rugby because unlike their partners they have little or no domestic product outside of club footy. South Africa and New Zealand already have a saturation.
But all three need a top line product with a bit more zip to it.
The last alteration was to expand from 12 teams to 14. Despite suggestions then of looking outside the square the two new sides came from Australia and South Africa.
With South Africa and New Zealand having five teams compared to Australia's four in the current situation you can bet that the Aussies will be pushing to even the numbers up ... 5 + 5 + 5 = 15 after all.
The word out of Dubai is that Sanzar, as is their right, will consider their own options before they consider calling in a team from Asia, the Pacific or the Americas.
That's fair enough. It's their product and it's been doing fairly nicely for a fair while.
But you can't help feeling that Super rugby and this whole Sanzar thing stands at the crossroads right now.
It's a grand chance to be, well, grand. That means thinking outside the square a little.
As has been proven by the New Zealand and South African models, the depth really isn't there to have five teams per country and Australia certainly appears to be lacking in that vital ingredient.
The Aussies are desperate to get a foot in the big Melbourne market where league has successfully infiltrated AFL territory to establish the ***le winning Melbourne NRL franchise.
But Australia have made no secret of also wanting to grow a relationship with Asia and for the betterment of Sanzar, this looks to be an area to investigate.
There will be many theories thrown around in the next week or two as everyone offers a thought or two on this intriguing decision.
How about basing a side in Asia, make it a hybrid side that includes some Australians, even Kiwis and South Africans. Let them help the locals get themselves established at this level?
The same could be said of the United States.
Both these areas offer a vital ingredient which is money. It's an advantage they have over the Pacific Islands and in these tough times it will be something that Sanzar must ruthlessly consider.
Sanzar needs to learn from its last expansion move that more isn't always better, especially when it's more of the same.
Talk of conferences and expanded finals systems is well and good but the fans are crying for something out of the ordinary here, something that will add to the product.
It's a challenge. Is it a challenge too far?[/b]