Rugby Australia is said to be considering abandoning Super Rugby after the 2023 season.
Beauden Barrett of the Blues breaks a tackle against the Brumbies.
Photo: Photosport
Reports out of Australia said Rugby Australia (RA) chairman Hamish McLennan had told New Zealand Rugby (NZR) counterpart Stewart Mitchell they were contemplating quitting the competition in favour of a domestic format.
McLennan told Fox Sports “all bets are off” with NZR from 2024 onwards.
“We’ll honour our commitments in ’23 but we need to see what’s best for rugby in Australia leading up to the RWC in Australia in ’27,” he said.
The revelation came after a period of tension between the two governing bodies.
That had been begun after the South African and Argentinean teams exited Super Rugby when it was revamped as a result of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A subsequent proposal from NZR for Australia to have just three teams in a new look competition also didn’t go down well with RA.
Money was reportedly a significant factor in RA considering their departure from the Super competition.
Fox Sports said NZR received $101 million from their broadcast partners Sky TV, while RA were only getting $32 million for their broadcast rights.
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