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Andrew Forrest’s new look Rapid Rugby competition has been conditionally sanctioned by the World Rugby Council and its dates are set to clash with the more established Super Rugby tournament.
Eight teams across the Asia-Pacific region, including the Perth-based Western Force, would contest 56 games over 14 rounds, prior to four finals over three weeks, with the winners taking a $1 million first prize.
Sanctioning has been granted subject to approval from participating unions and it’s believed Rugby Australia will back the Force’s participation in the tournament.
The Force apart, there will be teams from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Fiji, Samoa and Japan, plus one backed by a private consortium in a country to be revealed.
Forrest is looking at an inaugural season starting in late February, with a three week finals series culminating in a June grand final.
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Super Rugby starts in mid February and ends in early July.
Innovations proposed for Rapid Rugby would include reducing the game to 70 minutes, through 35 minute halves, and rolling substitutions.
New and revised laws would Increase the risk of kicking for touch, and reduce lineouts with the aim of keeping the ball in play for longer. Teams scoring a PowerTry, which starts from inside their own 22, would get nine points, without a conversion.
The competition will be run out of Hong Kong.
“We avoid all those stultifying walking through the honey of the politics and bureaucracy of Rugby Australia,” Forrest said.
“(RA chief executive) Raelene (Castle) is doing a fantastic job trying to drag them into the next century, but we needed to avoid all that.
“We needed to be fast moving, have rapid decision making, no bias.”
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One thing Forrest doesn’t blame RA for is not having a western Sydney side in the inaugural competition.
Forrest said that wouldn’t happen in 2019 due to a “lack of political foresight,” a dig it’s believed was aimed at the NSW Rugby Union, which believes it’s too fast to start up a western Sydney side for next year.
“The hurdles have not been put up by Rugby Australia, in fact I would like personally to thank CEO Raelene Castle for working closely with us for the last six months,” Forrest said.
“It’s others on the east coast of Australia that have failed to understand the multimillion-dollar value that an international entrepreneur — who I won’t name — has offered to bring to this region, and the state by running a western Sydney Rapid Rugby team.
“That’s a challenge for 2020 and one I will assist with in every way I can.”
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Forrest said it would be hard to recruit a lot of star power for the inaugural tournament as it fell in a World Cup year.
He’s committed to signing up 20 of the world’s best players over the next two seasons and says there could be up to 12 teams in the competition within five years, with India and China among the nations which might field a side.
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