ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham is adamant Australian rugby needs five teams for the Wallabies to be successful, urging Super Rugby to stick with its much-maligned format.
D-day is looming for the Brumbies and nervous Australian franchises as SANZAAR officials prepare to make a decision on the competition's future in the coming weeks.
![Four of five? Australia faces crunch time on the future of its Super Rugby involvement.](/web/20170217001820im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/c/0/s/y/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gueggm.png/1487233573291.jpg)
The ARU board will meet next week and will likely plan for a range of options at the SANZAAR meeting, including the prospect of axing one of Australia's five teams.
Super Rugby expanded to 18 teams last year in a five-country, four conference system that has confused fans and players.
There is some pressure to adjust the format and one proposal is cutting one team from Australia and two teams from South Africa.
The Brumbies' financial position and off-field dramas of the past 12 months have put the club in the firing line while the Western Force and the Melbourne Rebels are also anxiously waiting for an outcome.
The ARU took control of the Force's operations last year while the Rebels have a private backer.
But the Brumbies, Australia's most successful team, are hopeful a forecast of a $500,000 profit this year will bode well if ARU bosses start crunching numbers.
Some argue five teams in Australia spreads rugby talent too thing, but Larkham is a staunch believer that the Brumbies, Force, Rebels, NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds have had the opposite effect.
The Rebels joined Super Rugby in 2011. In the six seasons since then, the Waratahs and Reds have won championships and the Wallabies have played in a World Cup final.
"I quite like the format of Super Rugby at the moment. I know there are issues, but there will always be issues," Larkham said.
"For Australia, I'm comfortable that five teams is the way to go forward. I think we've seen real improvement in the national side in the last period of time.
"That comes on the back of the depth we're creating by having five teams in Super Rugby."
The Australian players launched a defiant stance on Thursday to defend the five teams and their future until at least the end of the next broadcast deal in 2020.
"Other codes in this country are growing their domestic competitions and fixtures at significant pace, and we simply can't do the opposite in an attempt to shrink our way to success," said RUPA president and Waratahs lock Dean Mumm.
"The game needs to inspire the next generation to play rugby, and a successful national shopfront is paramount to that effort."
Brumbies chairman Robert Kennedy said in November the club could not afford to be complacent, urging fans to show the ARU they'd be "mad" to cut the Brumbies out of Super Rugby.
It is inconceivable to some that the ARU would even consider cutting the Brumbies, but the club has lost more than $1 million in the past two years and had five chief executives since 2012.
The Brumbies, who hope to appoint a general manager of high performance next week, are the only club to have not relied on a handout from the ARU and broadcast statistics show Brumbies games have some of the highest viewer numbers in Australia.
The ARU was concerned about the Brumbies' financial position and off-field dramas last year, but Kennedy said at the annual general meeting: "[the ARU] are absolutely confident we are in one of the better financial shapes of the Super Rugby teams [in Australia]."
"I think everyone is nervous at the moment. From a fiscal point of view, I think all of the clubs are getting their ducks in line at the moment because that might factor in the decision," Larkham said.
"It's highly unlikely Queensland or NSW will be removed from the competition, so the other three provinces ... we're doing everything we can behind the scenes to make sure we're financially viable."
SUPER RUGBY ROUND ONE
February 25: Canterbury Crusaders v ACT Brumbies at Christchurch, 5.35pm.
* The Brumbies will host a fan day at the University of Canberra on Saturday at 10.30am to give supporters a chance to meet the players.