News in Brief
SANZAR rule out 'battle of the hemispheres'
A battle between the winners of the Heineken Cup and the Super Rugby crown has been ruled out by SANZAR
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- SANZAR have ruled out the possibility of a 'Battle of the Hemispheres' competition, despite admitting "liking the concept".
The governing body, which oversees the Tri-Nations and Super 14 competitions on behalf of the unions of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, will witness several changes to the sport over the coming seasons. Most notable of those will be the addition of Argentina to the current Tri-Nations competition from 2012 and the introduction of the Melbourne Rebels to a revamped Super 15 from 2011.
Reports had also suggested there was a possibility of a joint northern and southern hemisphere competition - featuring teams from the Heineken Cup and Super 15 respectively - being held at the end of 2012. But speaking after a SANZAR meeting in Sydney, Dr Jan Marais, chairman of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) executive committee said: "We like the concept but because of the timing, SANZAR cannot commit to such a competition.
"We cannot commit our champion team (in the Super 15) to it, but said that Premier Rugby Ltd (who represent clubs in the Guinness Premiership and made the proposal) should contact individual unions to ascertain whether they will be interested to participate."
- The Brumbies have secured the services of youngsters Christian Lealiifano and Matt Toomua on new deals until 2012. Toomua, 20, will start at fly-half in the Canberra franchise's Super 14 meeting with the Cheetahs this weekend but utility back Lealiifano, 22, is out for the remainder of the tournament with a knee injury after impressing in the early rounds.
"The main thing for me was that I'm really happy here," Lealiifano said. "There's a good group here at the moment to take the team forward. There's a good mix of young guys and experienced guys, especially with players like Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper around me.
"I feel like my game's come a long way since I've been here - there's still room for a lot of improvement but playing with guys like Gits has really helped me."
- Leicester have signed hooker Rob Hawkins from their Guinness Premiership rivals Bath. The 26-year-old joins the Tigers following Mefin Davies' departure to the Ospreys.
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1. Max Verstappen ()
