NSW Waratahs chief executive Andrew Hore has warned the number of teams playing in Super Rugby will be irrelevant if the governance of the competition is not reformed.
SANZAAR, the four-nation body that runs Super Rugby, is expected to cut the number of teams from 18 to 15 with the Perth-based Western Force believed to be facing the axe if South Africa agrees to cull two teams.
There has been criticism that the current unwieldy 18-team format, which involves sides from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Japan, has become unbalanced and confusing, but Hore argues the number of teams is not the major issue.
Hore says Australian rugby has to assert itself to ensure the success of the code in this country irrespective of the new Super Rugby format.
"To me it's about us stepping up and saying no matter what the external environment looks like there's no reason why we can't create something that is successful for Australia," Hore said.
"No matter where we end up with three Super teams, four Super teams, five Super teams, six Super teams, seven Super teams is largely irrelevant.
"It's about us taking some ownership for the model we are creating in Australian rugby.
"No matter how many teams we end up getting, we need to look at what internal structures and systems are we putting in place to support the growth and development of rugby (in Australia).
Hore said there were too many external factors adversely affecting Super Rugby in Australia and governance reform was badly needed.
"International politics, I believe, are having too much of an effect on a domestic competition," Hore said. "Once this is done and dusted, whatever the new competition looks like, what is the governance model going to look like that supports the growth and development of the game?
"Otherwise, we are going to lurch to another problem in five to 10 years. How do we look at growing now instead of focusing on death. That's going to be important moving forward. You need the right governance structures to support that."
Hore said there needed to be more cooperation for Australia's Super Rugby teams to achieve success.
"I do think there are issues in our sport with lack of transparency and collaboration and maybe if we start looking at that in the first instance and how we can better achieve that, then maybe that's a stepping stone for a relationship amongst the states and the national body, which enable us to work more closely on some of those key issues that we've got."
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