Super 14 congestion concerns for Henry

New Zealand teams may have to carry expanded squads into next year's Super 14 as debate rages within Sanzar as regards the composition of its season.

New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Chris Moller has told the Herald on Sunday that the three Sanzar partners are looking at a number of radical options to determine how they can fit the 2007 Super 14 and Tri Nations into a much reduced window as a result of the World Cup in France kicking off in early September.

It is almost certain that the Super 14 will start earlier and that the Tri Nations will be truncated to its original home and away format.

But that scenario will present New Zealand with significant issues as the 30 All Blacks who tour France and Wales at the end of this year will be given mandatory rest periods that will see them off limits until at least the end of January. This year the Super 14 kicked off on February 10, leaving All Blacks about a two-week window to be assimilated into their respective franchises.

If the tournament kicks off in mid-January next season, All Black tourists will be unavailable for the early rounds.

As it is a World Cup year, the All Black coaching panel may be keen for their stars to be given extra rest that will result in some players missing anything from three to six matches.

Being denied access to All Blacks would leave the Crusaders, Hurricanes and possibly the Blues short of bodies in their efforts to mount a successful campaign.

To get round that problem, the NZRU is thought to be considering allowing franchises to contract more than 28 players for next season with wider training group players - of which each franchise has seven - becoming fully-fledged squad members.

If the Crusaders were denied Richie McCaw, Greg Somerville, Chris Jack, Mose Tuiali'i, Daniel Carter, Aaron Mauger, Rico Gear and Leon MacDonald for the early rounds, it would leave them with only 20 players to select from.

Allowing expanded squads will, however, only partly appease the Super 14 franchises that remain ever keen to field their strongest teams. Super 14 coaches are under pressure to win games and fill stadiums.

That desire to pick a settled side each week provoked the ire of All Black coach Graham Henry, who has said that he would like to see more players enjoy greater rest periods next season.

Henry has made his position clear, even suggesting teams would perform better if they used their depth more wisely. But his goal is to win a World Cup in October, while the Super 14 coaches are trying to win a competition that will end in May.

"There are definitely some time constraints next season," said Moller.

"Some of the things we are looking at probably stretch towards the radical, while others veer more towards the status quo. We are working through all the options. It's a question of how we are going to manage squads.

"We saw some different thinking on the end-of-season tour last year and some different thinking again this year."

It's a complex puzzle for Moller to solve, made harder by the fact that the NZRU is having to try to shoehorn a third international fixture into the June window. The All Blacks are scheduled to play France twice next year in June before the Tri Nations and were supposed to play Italy but that fixture has been dropped.

With the All Blacks only playing Ireland twice at home this June, Moller said that the NZRU is obliged to provide Newscorp - the Rupert Murdoch-owned media company that owns the broadcast rights - with a third home fixture next season.

Moller said an announcement on next season is a couple of months away and that the Sanzar partners are united in their overall aims. Asked if there was any lingering tension with the Australian Rugby Union, he said: "There are absolutely no concerns on that score. All three countries are aligned, as we all have the same concerns in a World Cup year."