SANZAR's expansion ambition unbound, even by Europe

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY (Reuters) - SANZAR will consider future expansion in all parts of the world, including Europe, after the current 18-team Super Rugby competition beds down over the next couple of seasons, newly-appointed chief executive Andy Marinos said. Marinos, a former Wales centre who also served as CEO of the southern hemisphere body from 2008-10, said one of his first duties would be to draw up a strategy for the "further growth and expansion" of the competitions SANZAR runs. SANZAR -- South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby -- was set up to run the Super Rugby provincial and Tri-Nations test competitions in 1996. Their first move outside the borders of the three founder nations came when Argentina was added to the Tri-Nations to create the Rugby Championship in 2012. Argentina has also been handed a Super Rugby franchise for next season along with a team from Japan, a first foray into Asia and the northern hemisphere. Although further incursions into Asia and the untapped North American market would be more natural next steps, Zimbabwe-born Marinos said in a conference call on Wednesday that even Europe would be considered. While the number of players being lured away from the south by the riches of northern hemisphere clubs indicates the financial strength of countries such as France and England, SANZAR could yet find fertile ground for expansion on the Celtic fringes of European rugby. "I think you've got to have a pretty open piece of paper," said Marinos. "Besides the rugby strength that you've got to look at it's also got to be in good markets from a commercial point of view because, at the end of the day, you've got to generate sufficient revenue to sustain the competition so you've got to look across the board. "You've got to look at all the markets where there are opportunities." Along with the commercial returns that will come from expansion comes a duty to raise the level of the game in the areas concerned, Marinos said, making a further increase in the number of Super Rugby teams over the next two years unlikely. One part of the world closer to SANZAR's traditional base are the Pacific Island nations of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, which offer miniscule commercial opportunities but a huge quantity of quality rugby players. "The Pacific Islands are very much in our thinking," Marinos said. "The over-arching consideration on any future expansion in my view is that we have to proper geographic locations that are also commercially attractive. "The participation and inclusion of Pacific Islander players is really important, how we do that the next step and is going to need a fair bit of thought about it." (Editing by Peter Rutherford)