Rugby: Provincial games floated for Cup

The provincial championship could be extra entertainment for World Cup visitors if the IRB agrees.

The New Zealand Rugby Union is in talks with the IRB to see if there is any possibility of playing part of the 2011 provincial championship at the same time as the World Cup.

The logistics of such a move are complex given the need to have 'clean' stadia for the World Cup. That all but rules out the easiest and least disruptive option of starting what will be a 10-team provincial championship after the Super 15 and playing it right through in one block.

In 2011, the Super 15 will start in the third week of February and end the second weekend of July. If the provincial championship started in the third week of July - it has to include Super 15 players - there will be only eight rounds before the opening World Cup match on September 9.

One option would be to squeeze in an extra round mid-week during that eight-week window and dispense with the playoffs, instead declaring the winner after a full round-robin.

Overlapping the competition into the opening stages of the World Cup will be next to impossible as there will be no 'clean' grounds for provincial clashes. Besides, the IRB would be almost certain to refuse permission as they wouldn't want provincial rugby to be taking the focus off the World Cup when all 20 teams are still involved.

The alternatives are for the NZRU to play eight rounds before the World Cup, take a break and then seek permission to hold the play-offs at the tail end of the World Cup when only Eden Park will not be available.

"We have a preferred option," says NZRU chief executive Steve Tew. "And we have talked to RNZ2011 about that and are also having dialogue with the IRB. But I can't say any more as I don't want to pre-empt anything."

With an estimated 65,000 overseas visitors likely to come for the World Cup, there is an obvious desire to see if the IRB can be persuaded to allow provincial rugby to be played during the tournament.

The organisers of the World Cup are trying to promote the tournament as a festival of rugby, and the provincial championship could go a long way towards helping achieve that goal.

New Zealand is also going to try to pass itself off as a stadium of four million people and convince people it is the spiritual home of rugby. Some full-blooded provincial clashes would do much to enhance that image.

The presence of so many overseas visitors would also increase the chance of provincial games attracting bigger than average crowds while merchandise sales could also be increased.

The IRB will need to be convinced that New Zealand has the ability to operate its provincial championship, albeit a limited part, without breaking any World Cup commercial agreements.

They will also need to be convinced that the domestic action would not overshadow any of the World Cup.