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By MARC HINTON (http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/i...ar-deals-close)
Two key rugby announcements that will have a major impact on the future of the game could be only a matter of weeks away.
The new broadcasting deal between Sanzar - the alliance comprising New Zealand, Australia and South Africa - and News Limited is by all reports in the final stages of the negotiation process and should be signed off in weeks, rather than months.
And the proposal to have Argentina join the existing three countries in an enlarged Four-Nations southern hemisphere competition is also a lot further down the track than most people realise.
A meeting of chief executives of all the major rugby-playing nations in Los Angeles later this month is expected to go a long way to making the Pumas addition to the existing Tri-Nations competition a reality.
"We're still working with the IRB and Argentina and hopefully will draw some conclusions around the possibility of the Tri-Nations becoming the Four-Nations very soon," NZRU chief executive Steve Tew told Stuff at this week's Super 14 launch in Auckland.
Tew said the IRB-led chief executives meeting in Los Angeles in a few weeks would discuss the international programme for 2012 and beyond, and it is expected to go a long way to setting in place the future tours schedule.
The Sanzar nations are keen to upgrade the Tri-Nations with Argentina's inclusion, and a recent agreement from French clubs that they would not stand in their players' way was considered a major breakthrough to making that a reality.
Officials are keeping tightlipped on the all-important broadcasting deal which will lock up the major revenue source for the southern hemisphere unions for 2011 and beyond.
But it's understood a positive result has been achieved and that the agreement only needed finer details to be sorted out before it was ready.
Tew wasn't giving too much away at this week's Super 14 launch, other than to say he hoped an announcement would be out soon and that things were looking pretty positive for a deal that all parties were happy with.
Reports have suggested the new deal could be worth as much as US$400 million (NZ$560m) over five years, which would be a US$77m (NZ$108m) increase on the previous agreement. And the new process which leaves individual countries to negotiate separate revenues for their domestic product (national championships and inbound tests) is expected to enhance the NZRU's position.
The NZRU is expected to announce a major loss when it unveils this year's balance sheet, but that has been widely anticipated given the economic downturn and costs associated with staging next year's World Cup. That position is expected to turn around sharply post-2011.
Tew was also not pushing any panic buttons at this stage around reports that Australia's new Super rugby team, the Melbourne Rebels, could be about to launch a serious raid on New Zealand talent as it looks to fill its roster for its 2011 debut.
"There's a danger pressure might come on some of our talent, but I don't think it's going to be a significant issue for us," said Tew. "There may be some slippage around the fringes, but that's inevitable when a competition grows."
The NZRU boss also underlined that the policy of not picking All Blacks from beyond New Zealand's shores remained set in stone, with no prospect for a change in thinking.
"We believe very firmly one of critical issues for us is having our players playing in our domestic competitions and those guys being rewarded with the All Black jersey. They're the guys who have made the commitment to our game, they've stayed here and played in front of our fans, for our teams, and we think it's important to keep that incentive."
The only potential change to that policy could come in enlarging the selection criteria to include all teams in Super rugby, but Tew said that was not something on the agenda at this stage.
Meanwhile, Tew expressed his sympathies for All Black Ali Williams' season-ending Achilles tendon injury, but wasn't quite guaranteeing the stricken Blues second-rower alternative employment during his convalescence period.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry had reportedly been keen for Williams to stay involved in the game in some capacity after his injury in the Blues' pre-season clash against the Chiefs last Friday meant he would miss the greater part of his second straight season.
But Tew said Williams' No 1 priority had to be his rehabilitation as he confronts at least six months out of the game while he recovers from his second bout of Achilles tendon surgery.
"This is a prolonged break, and he's going to need something to do," said Tew. "I wouldn't speculate yet on what that might be, but certainly we'll have a chat to him once he's in position to do so.
"The priority for him is rehab, and maybe a role around the Auckland environment or Blues most obviously. We used a number of our injured players last year around events and functions, and they added some value."
Williams took his NZRU-approved sabbatical last year during his recovery period from his first Achilles tendon surgery. Henry has suggested his expertise in the lineout area could be tapped into during his absence over the next six months or so.