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Latest team to express interest in New Zealand's Super Rugby replacement revealed

Asaeli Tikoirotuma. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

A former Global Rapid Rugby side are the latest team to express interest in New Zealand’s mooted replacement for Super Rugby.

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The Asia Pacific Dragons, who participated in the GRR Showcase Series in 2019, have put forward a proposal to join the Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders in 2022.

New Zealand Rugby will assess the Dragons’ suitability for the replacement competition alongside the likes of Kanaloa Hawaii and two other Auckland-based teams.

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Ross Karl is joined by James Parsons of the Blues and Bryn Hall of the Crusaders to discuss all the action from Round 9 of Super Rugby Aotearoa and all the chat around the game in NZ.

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Ross Karl is joined by James Parsons of the Blues and Bryn Hall of the Crusaders to discuss all the action from Round 9 of Super Rugby Aotearoa and all the chat around the game in NZ.

The Singapore-based Dragons recorded a solitary win in the 2019 Showcase, beating the South China Tigers 41-26. Throughout that competition, the Dragons used a number of Pacific Island players with test experience, including the likes of former Chiefs Nili Latu and Asaeli Tikoirotuma.

Pacific Island Rugby Players’ chairman and former Highlander Hale T-Pole is the director of rugby for the Dragons and has suggested that his club offers New Zealand and Australia a gateway to both the Pacific Islands and the wider Asia region. For rugby to advance in the Southern Hemisphere, T-Pole believes the traditional rugby powers must also be prepared to modernise and work with private investors.

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“COVID has enforced the realities that the Super Rugby model wasn’t working or as commercially successful as was needed. We are now living in a new world with new opportunities, and new thinking,” T-Pole told the New Zealand Herald.

“NZR and Rugby Australia needs to re-think and actually change their approach to working with private entities such as ourselves and people like Andrew Forrest. We’ve demonstrated that private investment in rugby is a good thing, and it is a necessity for professional rugby to survive and thrive.”

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The club would play home matches in both Auckland and Singapore but T-Pole has indicated it would be unrealistic to expect any new side to assemble a team that could compete with the likes of the Hurricanes, Crusaders or Brumbies by next season.

“Our proposal is for a 2022 entry which allows everyone time to ensure recruitment, commercial preparations and all aspects are successful,” T-Pole said.

T-Pole also suggested the New Zealand market is simply too crowded to accommodate another team that doesn’t have an audience in other zones.

“We also feel that as the only bid that can realistically bring the Asian market to the competition right out of blocks, we open up that potential. We cannot see another NZ-based team being commercially sustainable if NZ is the core commercial market.

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“The other five brands already find themselves in an extremely cluttered market so we feel any new entrant team must bring a major expansion market with them to be sustainable, but also bring value to the competition.”

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J
JW 1 hour ago
'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

Even the 20/30 cappers did too I reckon.


IDK, I think Jordan has a limited life span in this side unless he can develop more to his game. Like you go on to mention, I think theyres more important things to worry about than the effectiveness of someone's extra strings, or secondary components to their game.


Bash backs are Fosters thing, and to a large part they've made it work. Theyre now one of the best teams in the world.


They boy's trucked it up a bit against Italy in the redzone, and against France, wasn't that effective without the right players probably.


Try and take a look at it this way. Dissapointed Havili and Blackadder were in the side? Havili despite clearly shown that he can't do what the team needs at 12 was kept on for the RWC. Back goes down and he brings in Blackadder who doesn't play. Refuses to drop Christie when he should and look who starts this season. Beauden Barret not playing well enough to keep his 10 jersey but we gotta keep him in the side. Weve only got one 8, we stuff developing another I'll just play Ardie every game.


This years team wasn't burdened overly with injuries but they were in every position Razor might have wanted to try and development, severely limiting options. I'm not defending Razor as there was also plenty of other opportunity to make up for it and he was a little gunshy, but I'm also not going to overly criticise him because he chose cohesion over a black slate.

How long are we going to keep blaming All Black failings on Ian Foster.

I think more and more people are on board with it being time to try alternatives, but then again, how would they have reacted to a loss against Italy? 😉

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