Rugby: Taranaki, Hawke's Bay in Super 15 bid

Taranaki has joined Hawke's Bay in a bid to become the sixth New Zealand franchise in an expanded Super 15 rugby competition in 2011.

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) confirmed today that it had received two expressions of interest on behalf of Super rugby's governing body Sanzar.

The two applicants are the Hawke's Bay Rugby Football Union and a bid on behalf of the Taranaki region.

The NZRU said it would assess the applications over the coming weeks and decide whether one, both or neither should be forwarded to Sanzar for its consideration next month.

NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said the process invited applicants to apply to their national union in the first instance and the NZRU would give consideration to the two New Zealand bids in the coming weeks.

"We have said publicly that there is a big question mark over New Zealand's capacity to sustain and achieve success with more than the five Super 14 franchises, so that will have a bearing on our considerations," he said.

"We will now be asking Hawke's Bay and Taranaki to provide us with very detailed business cases relating to the long-term sustainability of their bids."

Sanzar will consider next month all expressions of interest passed on by the South Africa, New Zealand and Australian unions.

The Sanzar executive committee will then decide how many of the interested parties should proceed to the next stage of submitting a full bid document.

Those bids will be due in mid to late September with a final decision from Sanzar expected in late October.

The 15th team will be included in a new Australian Conference from 2011.

The revamp will see five teams each assigned to South African, New Zealand and Australian conferences. The five teams will play the other four sides within their conference on a home and away basis, and will also play (home or away) four of the five teams in each of the other two conferences before an expanded six-team final series.

Seven groups from three Australian states have also tendered bids to join the expanded competition.

Three bids from Victoria, two from New South Wales and two from Queensland, including an unexpected seventh bidder, have lodged expressions of interest with the Australian Rugby Union.

Bids came from the Victorian Rugby Union, from a breakaway group of former VRU board members and from a group allied to the Melbourne Victory A-League football franchise. There were expressions of interest from West Sydney and New South Wales country, from Queensland's Gold Coast and from another unexpected Queensland source.

An ARU spokesman said confidentiality agreements prevented their identification, including the surprise Queensland bid.

The ARU will assess the bids over the next two weeks before inviting formal applications from approved bidders on August 7.

- NZPA