Rugby: Plan aims for two divisions

Under the new proposal, the national competition would split into two divisions from 2011. Photo / Northern Advocate

Two divisions of seven teams each from 2011 is the key to a proposal before the New Zealand Rugby Union, which will be shown to provincial union chief executives on Friday.

The Players' Association proposal, seen yesterday by the Herald, also features three weekends of inter-divisional rugby that would be determined each season by a televised draft.

The proposal was recently tabled to the NZRU as part of the collective bargaining process with the franchises and provinces.

It would see a full 14-team round-robin remain in 2010, before the competition splits into first and second divisions of seven teams from 2011.

The non-expansion of Super rugby has opened up the potential to retain the status quo for an extra year before moving to a reduced window the following year.

The final positions in next year's Air New Zealand Cup would determine the divisional split, not the criteria the NZRU was using to cull four teams under the 10-6 proposal.

The seven-seven split would mean there would be no need to promote two Heartland unions, a move which raised serious concerns at a recent players' conference.

A provincial union source said the proposal would be tabled to chief executives in Wellington on Friday and they would have the opportunity to endorse it or raise concerns.

NZRU chief executive Steve Tew was returning from Europe with the All Blacks and unavailable for comment. The head of the Players' Association, Rob Nichol, refused to discuss the proposal because of the protocols of collective bargaining.

The proposal would see a full round-robin within each division. Three weekends would be put aside each season for inter-divisional games, matches that would be determined by a televised draft that would promote transparency in the process and also boost interest in the competition.

There are a couple of options for the draft, but most likely the lowest ranked team (seventh in the second division) would get first option on who they would play. They would be faced with the prospect of:

Picking a side from the top division who they believed they had the best chance of securing points against;

Picking a local derby they could promote and market in the hope of a big crowd;

Or picking the Ranfurly Shield holders in the knowledge the Log o' Wood would be on the line in inter-divisional rugby, whether home or away.

The next pick would fall to the 13th ranked side, who would be faced with similar choices, and so on.

At the end of the nine-game season the top four teams in each division would play a semifinal, with the two finals the following weekend. The winner of the second division would be automatically promoted, replacing the team that finished last in the first division.

One stumbling block for the full 14-team first division and the 10-6 split was that it would require Sky to broadcast seven or eight games each weekend. Although they have refused to comment, it is understood five or six was their optimum number.

The new proposal would mean six games (three from each division) on most weekends, but seven games on the three inter-divisional weekends.

Each team would have one bye each season.

It is thought the franchise unions will be more comfortable with this proposal than they would, say, with a 14-team, single-division divided into two seven-team pools based on a geographical split.

The players' proposal means the strongest teams are still guaranteed to play each other every year, while the second division teams retain contact with the first division, ensuring the lower tier does not become a "wilderness" competition.

It is also a competition that should ensure there is something riding on virtually every game. Eight of the 14 teams will be in playoffs, others will be battling to avoid relegation.