Rugby union could soon have its own version of the Champions League with Blues CEO Andrew Hore confirming to 1 NEWS a global club competition featuring regional winners is in the works.
The competition would bring together winners from numerous leagues around the world including the likes of Super Rugby, the recently-renamed United Rugby Championship [formerly Pro14], France's Top 14 and more.
"We're working towards a global club competition," Hore told 1 NEWS.
"There's a couple of small things that need to be tweaked and changed - a shifting of windows, somewhat - but the governing bodies see the merit in it and we need it.
"We need [Super Rugby] to attach to something and it would be wonderful to go to that next step."
Hore, whose Blues are playing for their first title in 18 years tomorrow, said the concept has gained more traction in recent times with competitions becoming more regional during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Super Rugby will also become a trans-Tasman and Pacific-focused tournament rather than the widespread southern hemisphere spectacle it struggled to be.
"A lot of the reasons we went to an Anzac-type, Pacifica model was to get that local diaspora and then moving into a global competition," he said.
"It'd be wonderful."
South Africa's franchises have since joined the European club landscape, which was the catalyst for the rebranding of the Pro14 competition.
The Sharks, Bulls, Lions and Stormers will all compete in the United Rugby Championship, meaning Kiwi teams could still face South African opposition in the future if the global competition comes together.
"It's proposed [the South African teams] would go through the European qualification," Hore said.
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