Is New Zealand Ready for Another Super Rugby Team?

With talks underway between SANZAR officials over the future expansion of Super Rugby, New Zealand rugby bosses are reportedly pushing for a 6th Super Rugby franchise.

It comes as South African rugby officials are pushing for a 6th Super Rugby franchise from the Republic, i.e. securing the places of both the Lions and Kings in Super Rugby and doing away with the current annual promotion/relegation series.

But is New Zealand ready for a 6th Super Rugby team? Indeed, is the market big enough for another team in what is already a rugby saturated market?

And where would this 6th team be based? Here are 3 possible candidates.

Napier/Hastings
The strongest possibility - it is a region that is also fast growing and has been somewhat abandoned by the Hurricanes franchise. Hawkes Bay rugby is clearly going strong - the Ranfurly Shield is evidence of that (still not happy about that) - and could unite with Manawatu to form a very competitive Super Rugby team. McLean Park and FMG Stadium are first class facilities which have hosted international tests and would be more than capable of hosting Super Rugby.

Tauranga/Rotorua
A good choice given Tauranga is now New Zealand's 5th largest city and the centre of one of its fastest growing regions. Bay of Plenty rugby is going great guns at the moment too. Games would be shared between Tauranga and Rotorua although there are questions over who their partners might be given the proximity of the region to the Chiefs franchise area.

New Plymouth
Another growing region in New Zealand although probably the least likely place to get a new Super Rugby franchise given it is one of the Hurricanes' strongest partner unions. However, if it did choose to ditch the Hurricanes link, it could join up with Manawatu and be quite strong. Yarrow Stadium has also got experience with Super Rugby and international rugby so would be a fine venue.