New Zealand fought a lone battle on Super Rugby revamp, says Steve Tew
NEW Zealand rugby boss Steve Tew says his country fought a lone battle trying to change the format of the 18-team Super Rugby for the 2017 tournament.Representatives of SA‚ New Zealand‚ Australia and Argentina Rugby (Sanzaar) met in Sydney last week to discuss the way forward for the cumbersome tournament.Super Rugby has four conferences‚ and this ring-fences teams that might perform worse than sides in a more difficult conference.That was one of Tew’s concerns. He said the Highlanders and the Chiefs‚ who both had more log points than the Stormers and the Brumbies‚ were forced to play away-quarterfinals.New Zealand wanted a format that simply ranks the top eight by their log points gained and not by how they finished in the conference. But representatives from Australia and SA shot down the idea."Yes‚ disappointed and yes‚ we couldn’t get agreement from Australia and SA‚" Tew told reporters."We’ve tried and haven’t completely given up, but it’s unlikely we’ll get any substantial cha...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.