Fourth Aussie Super 12 team on the cards
October 8, 2002

Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill has expressed his confidence that the new regime in New Zealand will be open to the prospect of expanding the Super 12s to include a fourth Australian team.

Speaking ahead of a trip across the Tasman, O'Neill said he was sure the Super 12s ruling body SANZAR would seriously consider expanding the competition.

"We're getting all the right vibes now from the new administration in New Zealand," O'Neill told the Daily Telegraph. "There's no doubt when the SANZAR board next meets in Johannesburg the prospect of another Australian team in an expanded Super 12 will come up for discussion."

O'Neill was the target of stinging criticism from New Zealand officials after it was eventually stripped of co-hosting rights for the 2003 World Cup which will now be held solely in Australia.

Blame for the IRB's decision to cut the Kiwis out of the equation was placed firmly at the feet of the NZRU after criticism from an independent report. As a result, a host of high-ranking officials lost their positions.

O'Neill believes the changing of the guard in New Zealand will assist the ARU's campaign to get a fourth Aussie team accepted into the comp.

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