“We’ve been supporting that and advocating for that, and being very vocal in our support for the 20-minute red card.”
The 2017 series has also been a factor in RA urging Lions management for this year’s series to have golden point extra time, to ensure a winner. The third Test saw the All Blacks and Lions play out a 15-15 draw, and the stony-faced captains both held up the trophy in a tied series.
Low moment: Williams walks from the field after his red card during the second Test against the Lions.Credit: AP
“We’ve had some really constructive conversations,” Waugh said.
“That’s got to go to the Lions board around whether it’s a drawn series, or you decide it through golden point or extra time.”
Super Rugby introduced “Superpoint” this year, where teams play an extra 10 minutes of golden point time to find a winner before a draw is declared. The Waratahs scored a 90th-minute match-winner in Perth at the weekend.
Waugh said: “Our preference, if we put the fans at the centre of everything we’re doing, I think that the familiarity that everyone has with ‘Superpoint’ and the interest for that in our market is a good guide. Obviously, we will be making sure both parties agree. But I think that if you’re thinking about some fan engagement, that’s certainly very appealing.”
Reports in the UK said, after talks last week, there had been agreement for a World Club Championship to finally get off the ground in 2028, with a 16-team competition that could see powerhouse clubs like Leinster and Toulouse take on the Crusaders and Brumbies.
Waugh said talks were positive about the proposed competition, but Super Rugby nations had not yet signed up, and the priority was to ensure the revived Super Rugby Pacific competition is not compromised by changes made to the season.
“But equally, how do you complement that with a World Club Challenge concept?” Waugh said.
Loading
“I think it can drive real interest. There’s definitely an opportunity there. It’s a great concept.”
The competition, which would likely run for a month, is proposed to be played in June and feature eight teams from Europe (the URC, the Premiership and Top 14), seven from Super Rugby and one from Japan.
Waugh said Super Rugby’s preference would be to not cut back the season, so the new competition would require Super Rugby to move round one to the heat of mid-January. It currently starts in early February, with the final played in late June.
“That’s still a work in progress. Our preference would be to ensure you keep the length of the season.
“There’s been player leave and some considerations around starting a Super Rugby season earlier that we need to take into account.
“The most important thing, as we’ve seen probably through multiple iterations of Super Rugby over a long period of time, is that stopping and changing hasn’t been helpful. So we want to ensure that we’ve got the fan at the centre of every decision that we make.”
Watch all the action from the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season on Stan Sport, the only place to watch every match live and on demand.
