Queensland coach Phil Mooney has warned Australian rugby doesn't have the playing stocks to house a fifth franchise in a proposed expanded Super 15 from 2011.

After many months of bickering and disagreement, leading officials from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa agreed on a Super rugby compromise in crisis talks in Dublin late Thursday.

While governing body SANZAR were keeping the finer details of their expansion plans secret on Friday, the early indications were Australia would be the base for the new 15th team.

If that's the case, Melbourne - edged out by Perth's Western Force for a Super 14 berth in 2006 - stands as the overwhelming favourite for the licence.

ARU supremo John O'Neill emerged from the three-way discussions pleased that Australia's ambitions of a longer competition to better compete with the NRL and AFL had been realised.

"It is fair to say Super rugby will have a significantly bigger footprint from 2011 compared to the past 13 years," O'Neill said.

"The Super rugby competition will run deeper into the season.

"We will have a mass entertainment presence that will enable us to compete with the other codes from a stronger and more compelling position in the Australian marketplace.

"It is the outcome we have sought since recognising early last year that a dramatic transformation of Super rugby was required."

Although the plans to go before News Limited for a new broadcast deal from 2011 won't be outlined until next week, it is expected the new format would contain 18 rounds before a six-team finals series.

Each country would be home to a five-team conference where teams play their national rivals both home and away for twice as many local derbies, ensuring more local interest and home games.

But Mooney, whose Reds have finished in the bottom three of the ladder for the past six seasons, feared a fifth Australian team would be cannon-fodder and could also undermine the four existing teams.

Of the Australian teams only NSW (twice) have made the finals since the competition was expanded to a Super 14 and none sit in the top four going into this weekend's final round.

"I just can't see where a fifth Australian team are going to get the players from," Mooney said.

"If you take all young guys, which we have done, you're going to take a few hits.

"If you pick all the old guys I would argue that Super 14 has probably moved on from them.

"We're talking about starting a new team and if the Australian teams were coming one, two, three, four I'd say yep but as we speak not one of them are in the four."

While a supporter of expansion, Mooney would prefer to see a combined Pacific Islander team admitted which could either be based in Australia or NZ.

"Samoa, Fiji, Tonga have been punching above their weight for a long time," he said. "I think we've got a responsibility to help develop the game there."

Victorian Rugby Union president Gary Gray denied a Melbourne side would struggle for talent and would be competitive with a squad which would contain between 12-15 Islander players.

NZ chief executive Steve Tew confirmed each nation made compromises to solve the impasse in negotiations which have dragged on for more than 12 months.

While South Africa may have given up on their desire for a sixth team playing out of the Eastern Cape, Australia and New Zealand would have ceded to the early mid-February competition kick-off.

"It's fair to say we're all satisfied," Tew said. "No one is overly joyed and no one is bitterly disappointed, which when you try to get three parties to agree to something as complex as this is probably the right result."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP