KEY POINTS:
A reduction of teams in the Air New Zealand Cup has been mooted by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU), along with a calendar shift as it seeks to repair a competition threatened by financial strife.
An NZRU discussion document released today also recommends slashing the salary cap to ease pressure on unions struggling to survive in the national provincial competition.
The 76-page document was prompted by financial losses totalling $9.6 million across the 14 provincial unions and NZRU, a figure deemed unsustainable by all parties at a national forum in March.
The document promotes starting the competition two to three weeks later from 2009, running from mid-August to November.
It recommends a reduction from the current 14 teams to 11 or 12, with a competition length of 13 weeks deemed to be optimum, allowing a full round-robin of matches.
There is a recommendation to reduce the current salary cap of $2.1m significantly, to between $400,000 and $1.2m. Player payments last year were $20.6 million, a 75 per cent increase on four years earlier.
If the number of teams was reduced it would spark further challenges.
Demoted teams would either be accommodated in the amateur Heartland Competition or a new second-tier structure would be created.
The case for players affected by a reduction in teams would be addressed by the New Zealand Rugby Players Association as part of the collective agreement negotiation later this year.
Chief executive Steve Tew stressed today's document represented recommendations of the NZRU rather than a primary view.
"This is one step in a comprehensive process," Tew told NZPA.
"The key attributes of the competition are all agreed, the role of the competition is pretty well understood and there are things coming through that are important."
Tew said a later start to the season was almost universally supported.
The recommended number of teams would create discussion but was the best of eight options considered in the document if a logical process was followed.
"If you want to tick a 13-week window against key attributes, then you do come down to two more preferred options (11 or 12 teams), particularly if you start putting financial issues around it," Tew said.
"It's a direction, but there's still a lot of talking and feedback before any final decisions are made."
The recommendations are dependent on gaining certainty about other elements of the season structure, still in the discussion stage as part of a wide-ranging competitions review.
One is Super rugby, where the document said there is general acceptance it will expand into July or August and run concurrently with the June test window.
The NZRU has mooted that the Super rugby season start almost a month later than usual, in mid-March, but Tew said that had yet to get support from Australia or South Africa.
The Tri-Nations would ideally follow directly from Super rugby, starting in August and flowing into the northern hemisphere tour, effectively ending the involvement of All Blacks in provincial rugby.
The club rugby season dates would be unaffected but a later start to the Air NZ Cup would grant provincial players more time with their clubs. A national club finals day was touted for late July.
The discussion document, a key component of the competitions review, was released to provincial unions yesterday.
It is the result of widespread consultation with provinces, Super rugby franchises, the Players' Association and other media and sponsorship stakeholders.
A review of the Air NZ Cup was always going to take place after its third year but was brought forward by the financial plight of several unions.
Provinces will have a further opportunity to provide feedback on the document by July 16 before the final review report is concluded.
An NZRU board meeting on August 1-2 will consider the final report and determine the new competition structure, subject to final consultation with provincial unions.
- NZPA
