Wellington (New Zealand) (AFP)
The New Zealand rugby federation presented a plan to reform the Super Rugby championship for next season on Friday which, in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, would no longer include South African and Argentinian teams.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is proposing that the Southern Hemisphere Club Championship bring together five New Zealand franchises, one from the Pacific, and two to four Australian teams.
"We want teams that are competitive and that fans want to see each other compete every week," said NZR general manager Mark Robinson.
He blamed the pandemic for choosing to exclude teams from South Africa and Argentina, observing that the virus prohibited long-distance travel, speaking of "extremely difficult" decisions.
"We have a lot of compassion for what rugby is going through in Argentina and South Africa, for their inability to play and the uncertainty it creates," he said.
He could not say if the competition would be supervised by the Sanzaar, the body that had previously organized Super Rugby.
The southern hemisphere franchise competition has been stopped since mid-March due to the pandemic. It is currently replaced by local tournaments, such as the Super Rugby Aotearoa with the five New Zealand franchises or its Australian version with four teams from the country.
Before the Covid-19 forced to change the format, Super Rugby opposed 15 franchises from five countries (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Japan).
© 2020 AFP