Sam Whitelock of the Crusaders celebrates the win after the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific Final. Photo / Getty Images.
Sam Whitelock of the Crusaders celebrates the win after the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific Final. Photo / Getty Images.
Super Rugby Pacific has a future beyond 2023 as Rugby Australia have abandoned their fanciful ambition to go it alone in 2024 and have committed to the competition.
It is understood that a deal has been reached that will see Australia keep its five teams in Super Rugby Pacific undertemporary financial arrangements in 2024, with a view to agreeing a longer-term, sustainable revenue split that may begin 2025, but more likely 2026.
The agreement between New Zealand and Rugby Australia brings to an end a prolonged period of uncertainty and tension, which erupted mid-way through this year when chairman of the latter, Hamish McLennan, said: “All bets are off from 2024 onwards with New Zealand.
“We’ll honour our commitments in 2023 but we need to see what’s best for rugby in Australia leading up to the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027.”
There was some debate about whether this was a genuine threat to quit Super Rugby or a calculated play to force NZR to negotiate a new agreement about how broadcast revenue is split.
It would appear that it was more likely the latter as Rugby Australia has found itself under extreme financial duress in the last two years due to signing an underwhelming broadcast deal in 2021.
The union had been offered a continuation of its existing $58m a year deal with Fox Sports, but turned it down to explore competitive offers and ended up with just $28m-a-year from Channel Nine.
NZR, on the other hand, negotiated a $100m-a-year deal with Sky TV in 2019 and while it did so with no obligation to share any of that with Australia, the formation of Super Rugby Pacific in 2022 was viewed as an opportunity by administrators across the Tasman to explore ways in which broadcast income could be more evenly distributed between the two nations.
NZR agreed to make a $5m payment to Rugby Australia this year and it is thought it will make a slightly increased payment next year and in 2024.
Both countries, however, want to agree a longer-term revenue sharing agreement from 2026.
NZR’s current broadcast agreement will expire at the end of 2025 and they want to renew it, knowing precisely how much of the new deal they will have to share with Australia.
Australia’s current broadcast deal is more flexible in timeline, and they could re-negotiate to begin a new arrangement in 2025. If they do, it will fast-track the need to have revenue-sharing terms in place as NZR would not want to keep bridging the income gap indefinitely.
The news that Super Rugby Pacific now has a future beyond 2023 will be widely welcomed by all 12 clubs as well as sponsors – who were shocked by Australia’s threat to quit the competition at the end of next year.
Super Rugby has endured a tough and turbulent time since it expanded to 18 teams in 2016 and then collapsed financially as a result of the massive travel costs involved in playing games in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Japan and Argentina.
The arrival of Covid further impacted the competition because it effectively saw South African teams permanently withdrawn and with the pandemic disrupting life in both 2021 and to a lesser extent 2022, Super Rugby Pacific is desperate for a prolonged period of certainty and stability, which it will now have following the successful conclusion of talks between the two partners.
