Rugby Australia interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke and New Zealand Rugby Chief Executive Mark Robinson wearing appropriate beach attire. Photo / Getty
Rugby Australia interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke and New Zealand Rugby Chief Executive Mark Robinson wearing appropriate beach attire. Photo / Getty
New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia have taken an optimistic approach to planning for the 2021 season with the announcement of a joint Super Rugby venture.
With the return of Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby Australia, both nations will have their own individual competitions, before joining forces for atrans-Tasman competition in May.
In announcing the competition, neither New Zealand Rugby nor Rugby Australia made mention of how the travel restrictions each country has in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic might impact the competition. Anyone flying into New Zealand, and the majority of Australia, must observe a strict two-week quarantine period before being allowed into the public arena, and there has been no indication of when these restrictions might be lifted - or the establishment of a long-rumoured quarantine-free trans-Tasman travel bubble.
"We are going to cross any Covid-19 related issues including travel closer to the time," a New Zealand Rugby spokesperson told the Herald.
"It's a fair way down the track and we are taking a positive approach right now. But, as always, we will be guided by the experts when it comes to Covid."
The Chiefs and Brumbies will both feature in Super Rugby Transtasman. Photo / Photosport
Super Rugby Trans-Tasman will feature 10 Super Rugby clubs, five from New Zealand and five from Australia, playing 25 matches over five weeks before a final on Saturday June 19.
All teams will also play two away matches, while their fifth will be part of a 'Super Round' featuring all Round 3 matches being played at one location, over one weekend. NZR and RA will announce kick-off times and venues for the competition, as well as the process that will be used to select the location of the 'Super Round', at a later date.
"We're trying to be sensible about how we manage the travel and movements of the teams," Rugby Australia interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke said of setting the draw for the competition.
Rugby Australia interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke and New Zealand Rugby Chief Executive Mark Robinson wearing appropriate beach attire. Photo / Getty
"Every club will have two home games and two away games. Then the Super Round, which I think will be a first in rugby – certainly in the southern hemisphere - I think is going to attract a huge amount of interest. The structure of it has been carefully created and given it's a short form, it'll be a high-octane, very intense competition at the right time of the year and I think the fans will really have something to get behind.
"It's really important that our clubs get as many home games as they possibly can, because the whole rugby economy has been hurt by Covid and who knows if Covid is going to have a lag effect next year so we need to prepare for that, and whatever we can do from a national union's point of view to support our state unions in getting home games to drive their commercial outcomes is really, really important."
