A trans-Tasman Super Rugby competition is in the works for next year with a six-week competition to be announced in the coming weeks, according to reports.
The Sydney Morning Herald claims the competition is close to being signed off by Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby.
The report says the competition will feature the five New Zealand and five Australian Super Rugby franchises, who will face off once before a final between the top two sides of the competition.
The tournament is due to start on May 15, a week after Super Rugby Aotearoa concludes.
The dates will allow enough time for the All Blacks and Wallabies to prepare for possible tests in July.
Queensland Rugby Union chief executive David Hanham feels the tournament will be a huge boat for Australian rugby, who signed a new three-year broadcast agreement with the Nine Network starting in 2021 worth AU$100 million.
"The Kiwi teams bring a great audience, they bring great attendance to our matches in Queensland – the Crusaders, Blues, Hurricanes, Highlanders, Chiefs – they all bring a market," says Hanham.
"You just have to watch the [Bledisloe Cup] game here on Saturday where we had 38,000, which was close to COVID capacity.
"Trans-Tasman is absolutely the right future for us and I know we're excited to have the Kiwi rivalries in there and to test ourselves against the best teams in the world. That's what people want to see."
Super Rugby Aotearoa will kick off on Friday, February 26, with the Highlanders hosting the Crusaders in Dunedin, with the final locked in for May 8.
Super Rugby Australia will start a week earlier on Friday, February 19.
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