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Interesting thought here from All Black great Sean Fitzpatrick: Super Rugby should be cut into first and second divisions, not regional conferences.

It’s a plan which could have knock-on benefits for the idea of a Canadian expansion team, which could happen before the decade is out.

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Speaking on New Zealand radio program Crowd Goes Wild Breakfast, the former All Blacks captain said of his two tier plan: “I think you can make it work, but it needs to be competitive if we like watching competitive rugby.

“I’m a fan of inclusion, but it needs to be competitive.”

One of the critiques of the current 18-team, fours-conference structure is overall competitive imbalance. The expansion Japanese-based Sunwolves, for instance, won just one game in 2018, while shipping almost 42 points per game to the opposition. Some of that was down to a late buildup for the team and also, surely, their crazy travel schedule: the rest of their conference was based in South Africa.