WELLINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - There was no surprise that South Africa had opted to ditch Super Rugby after 25 years, New Zealand Rugby said on Wednesday, with their eyes having been turned to Europe "for some time".
The South Africa Rugby Union said on Tuesday they had voted to pull their four teams out of the southern hemisphere's Super Rugby competition and would look to align with Europe's Pro14. world champion Springboks, however, are likely to remain in the Rugby Championship competition which includes the Australia, New Zealand and Argentina national sides.
"SARU has signalled for some time now they were looking at aligning with the Northern Hemisphere season," NZR Chief executive Mark Robinson said on Wednesday.
"(But) we're also pleased to hear confirmation of South Africa's ongoing commitment to remain a key partner in SANZAAR, which strongly aligns with NZR's position."
Super Rugby was already undergoing a realignment for next year, with the Japan-based Sunwolves cut from the competition before the coronavirus pandemic brought the cross-border tournament to a shuddering halt in March.
Countries scrambled to organise domestic-only competitions in 2020 and NZR presented a trans-Tasman model involving just New Zealand and Australian teams for 2021, which prompted SARU to fire a heated barb at their colleagues in Wellington.
Robinson, however, said travel restrictions to curb COVID-19 spread had forced the formats upon them.
"All of the SANZAAR partners had agreed to look at more domestically related competitions in 2020 and 2021," he said.
The cross-border Super Rugby competition involving South Africa, Australian and New Zealand sides started in 1996, the year after rugby union went professional.
An amateur Super 10 competition involving provincial teams from the three countries and a side from the Pacific Islands, however, was played from 1993-95 as a precursor to Super Rugby.