Australia and New Zealand will hold a ten-team trans-Tasman Super Rugby competition from next season.
The competition will feature five Super Rugby Teams from each country in a home and away format.
The announcement confirms the Western Force’s resurrection into full Super Rugby competition once again after its surprise inclusion in the Super Rugby AU format earlier this year.
The competition will be played over six weeks beginning May 14 with the final set for June 19.
As well as each team playing two home games and two away games, the tournament will feature a “Super Round”, where every game will be played in one location across a single weekend.
The venue for the “Super Round”, which will take place in round three, is yet to be announced.
The announcement ends months of negotiations between Rugby Australia and Rugby New Zealand over the future of the international Super Rugby format.
The 2020 Super Rugby season was curtailed and then cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Australia and New Zealand hosting separate, domestic tournaments involving their own franchises.
There was no mention of the involvement of South African teams in the statement.
“This is a truly historic day for rugby in the southern hemisphere, with the first-ever Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby competition,” Rugby Australia boss Rob Clarke said.
“This will generate enormous excitement across both countries with some of the best players in the world set to challenge each other after the conclusion of Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Aotearoa.”
More to come.
