Rugby goes into extra time

The longest rugby season in history will kick off on February 18 next year with the opening matches of the new Super 15. It will end nine months later with the World Cup final on October 23.

In between there will be the Tri-Nations and the Currie Cup.

Over-kill on the part of the spectators and exhaustion on that of the players are the two biggest dangers in wall-to-wall rugby in 2011 that also needs to accommodate an overseas tour by the Springboks. It goes without saying that all 15 teams will need depth just to stay the course.

The Super 15, a tournament expanded by one with the introduction of the Melbourne Rebels from Shane Warne's state, starts on February 18 with matches in New Zealand and Australia. The South African teams join in a day later with two derbies, between the Sharks and Cheetahs at King's Park in Durban and between the Lions and the Bulls at Ellis Park. The Stormers have a bye.

The 15 teams have been divided into three conferences: South African, Australian and New Zealand.

Each team will play the other four teams in the same conference twice and four teams of the other two conferences away, and four teams of the other two conferences at home. This means they will miss out on two teams, one from each of the other conferences.

The Super 14 champions for the past two years, the Bulls, will not play the Auckland Blues, to whom they lost this year, and the Brumbies. The Lions avoid the Crusaders and the rookie Rebels. The Stormers will miss the Hurricanes and the Waratahs, whom they beat twice this year. The Sharks avoid the Highlanders and Reds. The Cheetahs will miss the Chiefs and the Force.

The new format ensures more derby matches, with the five South African teams involved in 20 of them. Of the 16 league matches that each team will play, 12 will be in their home countries.

The winner of each conference will qualify automatically for a home match in the three-week, six-team finals series. The three teams with the next highest total competition points in the regular season, regardless of conference, will also qualify for the play-offs.

The draw was unveiled yesterday in Sydney.

"We believe this competition will deliver even more of what our fans in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are telling us that they love about Super Rugby, including more local derbies, intense cross-conference competition and the expanded final series with the guarantee of a home final for each of the conference winners," said Super 15 spokesman Greg Peters.

The Rebels, coached by Australia's 1999 World Cup-winning coach, Rod Macqueen, will first play the Waratahs.

The Super 15 regular season will end on June 18, with the final on July 9.

The Tri-Nations starts on July 23 with a Test in Sydney between the Springboks and Australia. South Africa's last game is on August 20 against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth.

The World Cup starts on September 9 at Eden Park, New Zealand.