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The southern hemisphere rugby conglomerate SANZAR has long eyed the oval planet as a source of limitless opportunity for which to expand it’s Super 14 rugby franchise

The first signs of this move came in 2007 when New Zealand and Australia were bounced unceremoniously from Rugby World Cup and announced plans to boycott the 2011 Rugby World Cup and start their own ‘global’ rugby franchise called the Super World Series of Rugby (SWSoR).

New Zealand had apparently forgotten they would be hosting the 2011 RWC and later were forced to retract their hastily-made decision.

However, with the 2011 event fast approaching, the SANZAR nations are apparently making their move to position themselves for the post RWC era. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have today called for letters of intent from nations and teams interested in joining an expanded Super 14 franchise with 15 teams.

“SANZAR sees the change in the competition format from 2011 as a first step in positioning Super rugby to allow for future opportunities,” the group said in a joint statement. “With the 2015 and 2019 competitions likely being played in the Northern hemisphere in England and [ehem] Japan, an expanded SWSoR makes perfect financial sense.”

SANZAR has made a calculated move and asked that many nations not apply, including Argentina, Canada, Fiji, Japan, the United States and Tonga. Samoa, however, has been announced as a potential candidate for an expansion team citing geographical location and time zone as critical factors in the selection process.

When asked about the decision to not extend an invitation to Samoa’s South Pacific neighbor Tonga, New Zealand Rugby Union president John Sturgeon gave a candid response:

“We are trying to strike a balance between quality of play, ticket sales, and emmigration. If we let in Argentina or Tonga, the risk of a domestic team losing a match is simply too high right now. New Zealanders will not spend $200 to watch these amateurs defeat what’s left of our national side players. On the other hand, if we send our teams to the US, most of them will probably score lucrative contracts and not return. Samoa strikes the balance: the rugby is good, but not great, and who wants to move to Samoa? Have you been to Samoa?”

The SWSoR begins in December 2011 under a new structure. Three divisions of five teams will compete with the top two teams in each division coming together for a 6-team finals series. Divisions will be organized to reduce the costs of team travel, with South Africa and New Zealand each keeping it’s current slate of 5 domestic teams. Australia, with only 4 domestic teams, will host the new expansion team.