No talk of breakaway in Super Rugby, says Lion(s) king

Lions president Kevin de Klerk claims he has no knowledge of his side’s alleged withdrawal from Super Rugby over the next two years.

A report out of Wales at the weekend stated three of South Africa’s four franchises – the Sharks, Lions and Stormers – were ready to follow the Cheetahs in participating in Europe’s Pro14 competition.

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Sanzaar, the governing body for rugby in the Southern Hemisphere, on Monday rubbished the claims as “simply wrong”.

“We haven’t negotiated or been in contact with any party whatsoever. What I’ve seen is that three franchises had been mentioned, us, the Stormers and the Sharks,” De Klerk said on Monday.

“Sanzaar has contracts in place which will run until 2019. I can’t see anything happening before that. Everybody is pretty much locked in until then.”

Super Rugby as a whole is under increasing pressure due to what is perceived as a watered-down overall product and the continued poaching of the tournament’s top players by European clubs.

As a result, a provisional strategic plan developed for the period until 2030 has raised the possibility of expansion into the United States market to generate additional revenue.

It is, apparently, hoped that this could stem the exodus.

“It’s a fact that the strength of the Pound and Euro are luring more and more of our players overseas and there is very little we can do about the situation,” said De Klerk.

“The question will have to be asked somewhere along the line about how many foreign players can the foreign clubs afford. There will also have to be a restriction on the amount of foreign players that clubs will be afforded to field.

“I still believe Super Rugby is the strongest competition in the world.”

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