FOR: From the DailyTelegraph

South Africa to hijack expansion meeting

By Iain Payten
March 03, 2009 12:00am
SOUTH Africa appear poised to hijack a crucial meeting on the expansion of Super rugby tomorrow by pushing for their own sixth side ahead of a new Australian franchise.

ARU boss John O’Neill will join rugby bosses from South Africa and New Zealand in Dubai to map out the future of Super rugby.

Until late last year, talks had focused on expanding into a Super 15, with five teams from each country in three conferences and an expanded 23-week season.

But the natural progression of a fifth Australian side - or perhaps a Japanese franchise - looks likely to be scuttled by South Africa, who are pushing for a sixth side named the Spears on the South Eastern Cape.

“Let no one have any misconceptions, the delivery of Super rugby to the South Eastern Cape is a priority objective for South African rugby and no one in our organisation will rest until it is achieved,” SARFU boss Oregan Hoskins said at the weekend.

The SARFU position has the potential to tear the SANZAR alliance apart. O’Neill said yesterday he did not want to contemplate that scenario, and the Spears should be included further down the track.

The ARU boss and the NZRU hope the conference-based format is one of several to take to broadcasters by June 30. O’Neill believes Super rugby should start in March in the future.

AGAINST: THIS ESPN STAR ARTICLE OUT OF AUSTRALIA & THE USA will help shed some light on the behind the scenes battle.

http://www.espnstar.com/rugby/rugby-union/news/detail/item213984/O‘Neill-warns-Saru-over-15th-franchise/

O’Neill warns Saru over 15th franchise

Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O’Neill is headed for a fiery showdown with South African officials at this week’s SANZAR conference in Dubai over the location of the 15th Super rugby franchise.
The South African Rugby Union is pushing for a team to be based in the politically-sensitive Eastern Cape region, describing their proposal as a ‘priority objective’.
But O’Neill warned his SARU counterparts that they will have a fight on their hands, insisting Australia is next in line should SANZAR decide to increase the numbers of teams from 14 to 15.
“Australia and New Zealand are keen on expansion and the in-principle agreement last year would be that the expansion would be in the Australian conference,” O’Neill said.
“So it would be five teams in the South African conference, five in Australia and five in New Zealand.
“The Eastern Cape for South Africa’s purposes is very important politically to, over time, get a team in Super rugby.
“Our view of the time is a few years away, not now, and we’ll be pushing for our own opportunities in this market and perhaps Japan.”
O’Neill will attempt to take the emotion out of the argument when he meets with South African officials, calling for calm and rational thinking.
He hinted expansion plans may be put on hold as rugby tightens its belt in harsh economic times.
“We’ve all got to be careful we don’t overplay any particular hand,” O’Neill said.
“It’s pretty tough economic conditions and the SANZAR joint venture has to think long and hard before it takes any particular decision.”
Closer to home, O’Neill re-affirmed his organisation’s support for the Western Force following doubts over their long-term viability on and off the field.
“That market to us is incredibly important and we won’t be letting the Western Force fail,” he said.
“The global financial crisis is affecting professional sport and different markets are responding differently.
“Western Australia clearly has had some boom times and therefore they are coming off the boil a bit.
“Am I worried about the financial circumstances in WA? No more than I am across the country. We’re working very hard with the Waratahs, the Reds, the Brumbies and the Force to ensure that they all remain financially well and healthy.
“There’s no alarm bells ringing at the moment. We’ve got a lot of mouths to feed in rugby and Western Force is just one of them. We worry about everyone equally.”

(Report abuse)

1. The 6th franchise was never mooted by van Rooyen, then SA Rugby President - it was a unanimous 20 man Presidents Council decision under van Rooyen, that bound all 14 Unions - and it was cast in stone in June 2005. The 6th franchise exists. The problem is what fixtures and when?

2. IRB: http://www.irb.com/unions/union=11000034/index.html

3. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? SANZAR = 3 Unions = Super 14 (5 teams each from SA & NZ + 4 ex ARU) - Super 15 has a couple of options: Firstly, the three conferences are: SA, NZ & OZ. Secondly there are 2 Options for each of the three conferences. The first is that Oz gets a 5th team to equal the numbers of the SA & NZ teams, but OZ are saying include Japan as the 5th team, or Melbourne or Newcastle. The problem with this is that Oz does not have the money backing these 2 options. The Second S15 team option is SA gets a 6th franchise and the Eastern Cape comes in and this is backed with the cash from the broadcaster who is looking for increased rugby inventory and to keep their satellite competition out, as they come on stream in August. What research has shown is that local derbies between regional Super Rugby sides attracts more spectators than if they played against the other SANZAR union sides in the early rounds. That’s where the early rounds are played at home saving on travel.

3. Those fans dressed in red are wearing their own clothing and no free t-shirts were handed out! The new stadium in PE goes operational in June - a 48,000 seater and the new franchise plays the British & Irish Lions on the 16th June.

You will have a few surprises in store for the new franchises players and Director of Rugby coming up in a few weeks.

If it is quality you want, it is prime beef the Eastern Cape franchise will serve up to enhance your other favourite past time.

(Report abuse)

I also really didn’t realise that there were so many rugby clubs in the E.Cape which does however beg the question, why are their club and regional sides so poor. (The IRB link you gave me doesn’t work btw)

I’ll FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS on the remarkable form of the Force this year (after a few years of poor performances) when an E.Cape side wins the Currie Cup. They’ll need to find a Matt Gitteau though and they are rare and don’t come cheap.

I can still not make head or tail of what you are on about with your cost-effective exercise. 6 Kiwi teams, 4 Aussie teams and 5 SA teams are going to be difficult to divide into three 5-team “conferences” …playing one and a half rounds?
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? You’re going to have to draw me a picture I’m afraid. I’ve tried dividing odd numbers by even ones and keep getting fractions. Please help.

As for your photo-shop trickery, those fans will need to come every week (without free t-shirts mind you) and watch a team get klapped for a few seasons and keep up those numbers to have me convinced. Otherwise it’s just another rally. When I spoke of divisive I was referring to SA as a whole and not ECape. Perhaps there will be enough supports who will make the trek to Boet Erasmus (which has a nice big parking area to braai in if memory serves) on a regular basis. It would probably be good to have more players exposed to higher standards of rugby. I stand with my earlier comments that they will need to prove themselves before getting included into S14 though.
And yes, we will chat after the Lions and Cheetahs play the Spears (with Luke Watson as Captain no doubt) in 2010.

And finally, it’s not more rugby I want. Much like my other favourite pastime which involves the “fairer sex”, it’s quality and not quantity thats important to me.

(Report abuse)

Let’s deal with your information.

1. South African rugby has 511,561 players. Do you agree on this? If not, try http://www.irb.com/unions/union=11000034/index.htmlto understand the source. The 200,000 of these players come from the Eastern Cape. This is not some bar statistic, but research going back to 2005.

2. My sides are hurting from laughing at your comments that SA Rugby ‘were bullied into this agreement’. They were the authors of this agreement for heavens sake. Read the details and their agreement here: http://www.sportsleader.co.za/tonymckeever/2008/05/31/sa-rugby-administration-of-subterfuge-and-oppression/ Read the Franchise Participation Agreement posted at the base of the article!

3. Who says the team will get a whipping? You? Look at the Force 3 years ago and their lying 4th on the log today. Focus, Focus, Focus.

4. Cost Effectiveness is the SANZAR reason for going for S15: A 15 team competition creates three conferences of five teams, which would play one and a half rounds. Each of those conferences is divided into four divisions, with the winner of each division guaranteed a place in the playoffs regardless of their record. This cuts on travelling and hotel costs.

5. Let me show you the support for the Eastern Cape franchise. Take a look at some images of the support for this team: http://www.sportsleader.co.za/tonymckeever/2008/06/18/sa-rugby-president-spits-dummy-out-in-parliament/ Now try and tell me that these people are divided? They are unified and want their franchise in the Eastern Cape. Why else is Hoskins meeting the MEC Sport in PE right now? Your eyes will not deceive you and this is no PhotoShop trickery, but there are more fans here than any of the past weekends games turnouts at stadiums in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These people know it and want their own Eastern Cape franchise, so try telling them that they cannot play Super Rugby.

The Wednesday 4th March SANZAR meeting in Dubai, can cure a lot of the ills in Super Rugby and you as a spectator and fan will get more games to watch and please let’s chat then when the Eastern Cape franchise beats both the Lions and Cheetahs in 2010.

(Report abuse)

In my opinion the fast-tracking of a team from the E.Cape into Super-rugby would be an awful mistake and until they have a side down there that can compete in our domestic competition such a notion is akin to putting the cart in front of the horse.

To respond point by point Tony:
1) I’d like to know where those stats come from - I’m reliably informed that 80% of statistics are made up on the spot
2) SA Rugby were bullied into this agreement in the first place, the reason for them reneging is because they don’t see the idea as viable at the moment, possibly for reasons such as those I’ve mentioned above.
3) A 15th team that receives a whipping every game will do NOTHING to enhance the game and/or increase revenue. Sounding it’s death-knell maybe but certainly not going to increase revenue.
4) wtf? I’ve no idea what you’re trying to explain here but this makes as much sense as your explanation of the bonus points! If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
5) Unethical and unfair? The only fair I know is bus-fair (sp) and if a team wants inclusion they will need to show they can be competitive. They’re looking for a hand-out as is Cheeky Watson who by all accounts is a man hell-bent on dividing people rather than uniting them and the very ugly chip he carries on his shoulder has no place in the sport. Neither does he. His divisive comments and attempts to politicise the sport are repulsive to me and should be recognised for what they are and rejected with the contempt they deserve. Then again thats just my opinion. I’m probably not alone there though.

(Report abuse)

The Blues got their 6 points from a 4 point win over the Force plus a bonus point for 4 tries and an additional bonus point from 4 tries against the Bulls - total 6.

This is not that far behind the log leaders the Waratahs and the Bulls - although things are changing fast today.

The Bulls can assume the ascendancy if they put 4 tries past the Lions and win, to attain a 15 point full house.

No misunderstanding here we agree on the same points spread.

Now imagine us having this discussion following a 6-pack, it is enough to pickle the brain.

(Report abuse)

You say: “the Bulls stepped off the field with 5 points and the Blues with 4 points”.

Please can you explain how the Blues got 4 points from their game against the Bulls? They lost (0), and they lost by more than 7 points (0) but they scored four tries (+1), so according to my understanding they got only 1 point from the game.

The log table seems to support this conclusion. After two games, the Blues have two bonus points in total: one for a four-try victory over the Sharks, and another for a four-try loss to the Bulls. So unless I’m seriously misunderstanding you (for which, as the writer of this column, you would be at least partially responsible) you are making some grievous errors of calculation.

(Report abuse)

1. The Eastern Cape represents 40% of South African rugby players and require a franchise to grow those partner unions.

2. SA Rugby agreed to this on the 8th June 2005 and reneged on this agreement.

3. A 15th team in the Super 14 as a Super 15 brings extra games to increase the value of the SANZAR broadcast agreement with News Ltd to earn extra income from Broadcast fees and gate-money

4. Cost Effectiveness: A 15 team competition creates three conferences of five teams, which would play one and a half rounds. Each of those conferences is divided into four divisions, with the winner of each division guaranteed a place in the playoffs regardless of their record. This cuts on travelling and hotel costs.

5. It is unethical and unfair to exclude so great a rugby playing area. The new Eastern Cape franchise addresses that, which then opens up the prospect that this side can play the New Zealand Maoris in advance of the Eastern Capes game against the British & Irish Lions and South Africa against the British & Irish Lions.

Problem solved and no racial invective.

(Report abuse)

So, what’s this racist franchise all about, then?

(Report abuse)

(Report abuse)