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By Bret Harris
July 21, 2009 NSW Country Cockatoos, the "sleeping giant" of Australian rugby, have emerged as surprise bidders for the licence for the new team in the expanded Super 15 competition from 2011.
Melbourne is regarded as the favourite location for the new team, with Gold Coast and western Sydney also in the running.
But the NSW Country Rugby Union has lodged an expression of interest to base a Super rugby team at Bluetongue Stadium on the Central Coast.
Millionaire businessman John Singleton is believed to be interested in backing the Central Coast bid if it has a genuine chance of success.
"We've done a bit of homework and we qualify as well as anyone," NSWCRU president Bruce Worboys said.
"In Super rugby you have to have a minimum crowd of 15,000 at every home game or you will struggle.
"We will base the team at Bluetongue Stadium which has nice facilities. We would also take games to Newcastle and Wollongong.
"The population base of the Central Coast is 300,000 and growing, but NSW Country has a 2.5m population base."
Worboys said the NSWCRU was the biggest union in Australia with 121 senior clubs and 80 junior clubs spread across the state.
NSW Country has produced a host of Wallabies, including current players Adam Ashley-Cooper, Luke Burgess, Matt Hodgson and Josh Valentine.
The NSWRU supports the Cockatoos' bid, but the ARU is looking to introduce a new private ownership model for the expansion team.
This was why a consortium on the Gold Coast was initially the favourite, but now a privately backed group in Melbourne - in opposition to the Victorian Rugby Union - is seen as the front-runner.
But Worboys was confident the NSWCRU would be able to meet this requirement.
Asked whether Singleton would be involved in the bid, Worboys said: "Potentially, yes.
"He hasn't been involved at this stage, but if we are in with a real chance, we'll say to him we are up against mobs in Melbourne, Gold Coast and western Sydney. Do you want to be involved?"
The NSWCRU bid would need strong financial support as SANZAR has asked the bidders to show they could meet the operating costs of running a franchise of between $8m and $12m.
The seating capacity at Bluetongue Stadium would also need to be increased from 20,000 to meet the minimum requirement of 25,000.
The deadline for expressions of interest is Wednesday and SANZAR will select the preferred applicants by August 9. Full submissions will be made by September 18 and a decision on the location of the new team is expected before October 31.
SANZAR has decided to restructure the Super 15 competition into three geographical conferences in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to increase the number of local derbies.
While the new team will play in the Australian conference, it does not have to be located in Australia.
The Southern Kings from the Eastern Cape in South Africa are expected to make a bid for the licence.
But SANZAR has indicated it will strongly consider the geographical location and time zone of the new team in relation to Australia, which means the team will almost certainly be based here.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...002381,00.html