Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan says the country may pull its teams out of Super Rugby in 2024 and set up a domestic competition instead in the lead-up to hosting the 2027 World Cup.
McLennan says Australia was committed to Super Rugby only as far as 2023.
"We'll honour our commitments in 2023, but we need to see what's best for rugby in Australia, leading up to the RWC (World Cup) in Australia in 2027," McLennan told Australian broadcaster Fox Sports. "All bets are off from 2024 onwards with New Zealand."
Australia's five teams competed in Super Rugby this year, with six NZ-based teams and Fijian Drua. Only one Australian team made the semi-finals, with the all-NZ final between the Blues and Crusaders at Eden Park on Saturday.
Rugby Australia (RA) is considering selling a stake in its commercial assets to private equity, similar to NZ Rugby's deal with US firm Silver Lake.
McLennan said the RA board did not want to "prejudice the PE/debt process" with any competitions presented as a fait accompli.
"Some board members have strong opinions that a domestic-only competition, like the AFL (Australian Football League) and NRL (National Rugby League), would generate more money for the game and that is fair comment."
Matt Nobbs, chairman of the Canberra-based Brumbies team, says all the Australian teams were behind RA in exploring its options.
"We need to act in the best interests of the game and our financial viability comes into that as well," he said.
Reuters
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