New Zealand's five Super rugby franchises were unveiled with the naming of expanded 32-man squads in Auckland on Tuesday.

New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) general manager of professional rugby Neil Sorensen said coaches and franchises had worked cooperatively - and competitively - to build strong squads for 2011.

"The introduction of the franchise contracting model has seen some exciting movements, and some promising new blood coming into the mix," Sorensen said.

"This year sees 40 players picked for the first time into a Super Rugby squad and 12 existing players moving to new franchises."

Included in the squads are seven of this year's junior world champion under-20.

"Next year will be an exciting year in New Zealand rugby, and it's fantastic that our rugby calendar kicks off with this world-class premier rugby competition," Sorensen said.

The Super Rugby competition expands to 15 teams next year, with the arrival of new Australian franchise the Melbourne Rebels.

It also sees a revamped competition format, with a new three-Conference system within each of the three SANZAR nations.

This will see more local derbies, with all New Zealand teams playing home and away games against each other.

New Zealand teams will also play four of the five teams from each of the other country Conferences.

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