Australian Rugby Union CEO: England could join the Tri-Nation series

“Australian Rugby Union officials are pushing for top European nations to be included in an expanded Tri-Nations tournament and teams from North and South America, Japan and the Pacific to be involved in an expanded Super 12 competition.

“ARU chief executive John O’Neill reportedly wants the Super 12, the southern hemisphere’s premier provincial rugby competition, to evolve into a Super 20 tournament.

“The Tri-Nations, a home-and-away international series involving world champion Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, could also be widened to include the No. 1 and No. 2 place teams in the European Six Nations tournament, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported today.” NOTE: This was on February 2 2001.

“The possibility always exists for the Tri-Nations to turn into a Five Nations tournament,” O’Neill was quoted as saying. “France and England would obviously be the two major contenders.”

The Super 12 includes five New Zealand provinces, plus four South African franchises and three Australian provinces. Most speculation of expansion in recent months has centered around the inclusion of a fourth Australian team. NOTE: They finally got the Western Force and left Melbourne out in the cold for the past three years.

O’Neill’s proposal was for a Super 20 format to contain five teams each from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, plus club or provincial champions from Argentina, Canada, the United States and Japan and a combined Pacific team selected from nations including Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

O’Neill said the global competitions could provide more lucrative TV contracts and a wider audience appeal for rugby union. He said the Super 20 could potentially draw attention on a scale similar to England’s Premier League soccer championship.

“We could go to a Super 13 next year — no problem. But let’s be a bit adventurous and think more globally. A Super 20 would be a serious global tournament,” O’Neill told the newspaper.

“Members of SANZAR, the umbrella organisation for the South Africa, New Zealand and Australian Rugby Football Unions, will consider O’Neill’s proposals during a telephone hookup next week.

“The biggest existing rugby union tournament is the quadrennial World Cup. The 1999 World Cup in Wales was expanded from 16 to 20 nations. The 2003 World Cup in Australia will also include 20 nations plus qualifying tournaments.”

The article above was run in the Independent on February 02 2001, so fast forward seven years to yesterday, when O’Neill launches a so called expansion “plan” of Super Rugby via the Sydney Morning Herald with:

“Southern hemisphere poised for radical changes — O’Neill

“September 24 2008 — 11:50am

“O’Neill said the annual Super rugby competition, which involves 14 teams at present, could expand to 18 sides, possibly into Japan and North America, by 2013. Test matches between Australia and New Zealand could also be hosted overseas.

‘I think the opportunity is there to evolve to the next stage; I think we’re ready for it,’ O’Neill said during a news conference to name the Wallabies squad for the November tour.

‘We are hopeful in 2010 we will go to Super 15 and then within a three-year period go to Super 18.

‘That brings with it an opportunity to expand into a Japanese market, maybe the American market.

‘This is another moment of transformation. The game was transformed in 95/96 with the arrival of the professional era.’”

Clearly O’Neill should rather be managing a portfolio of Travel, Trade & Tourism for either New South Wales or Australia, by deposing the Hon Simon Crean MP Minister of Trade for Australia and not rugby.

Asian markets? America?

What about the broadcasters and sponsors and South Africa who under pins the SANZAR tournament?

Where is the consultancy with his SANZAR partners on a coherent format? There is none and O’Neill is flying a kite without properly canvassing his SANZAR partners for their proposals.

President of SA Rugby Regan Hoskins has a potent powerhouse plan to rejuvenate southern hemisphere rugby, the Super 14 and financially neglected regions in each of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

O’Neill’s comments are a knee jerk reaction in advance of him hosting the SANZAR meeting on October 15 in Sydney and are not cognisant of the complex contractual agreements in place with the broadcasters and sponsors.

In +- 10 days expect Regan Hoskins to hit the deck with a “Marshall Plan” to propel southern hemisphere rugby and SANZAR into the next decade with a coherent and profitable solution.

And best of all it includes the ARU and NZRU with a magnificent self-help remedy.