Lancaster was speaking after the NZR board reaffirmed its commitment to Super Rugby and the NPC, after the option of the Kiwis walking away from both was floated at a summit last month to address gloomy financial forecasts and ways to cut costs.

While NZR discussing “open borders” in Super Rugby – similar to the cross-pollination of trans-Tasman players seen in the NRL – is still very tentative, it is still a big step. Rugby Australia has pushed for the change for years, but NZR weren’t interested due to a lack of trust in the high-performance systems in Australia.

Waugh said on Friday that “the relationship with New Zealand Rugby is as strong as it’s ever been” and that there was now a shared understanding that bold thinking is required to revive the loss-making Super Rugby.

“It’d be enormous,” Waugh said of the potential impact on Super Rugby. “Just the mentality of having a one-competition narrative rather than what has been historically, which is five New Zealand teams, a Fijian team, four Australian teams, and everyone talking about an Australian team versus a New Zealand team.

“And if we can elevate ourselves above that and focus optimising it as one competition, that is really powerful. Ultimately, you’re looking at it as you’ve got 10 clubs in the competition, and you’ve got an open market.

“If you think about the number of All Blacks fans that reside in Australia, and equally the Australians who are living in New Zealand, it’d add additional spice and interest – and that ultimately leads to a more successful product.

“Everyone [at RA and NZR] is looking at rugby and how do we elevate rugby in our region, and we are very conscious we need to do that together with a positive focus … and not so much around a defensive mindset where we’re just protecting our own backyard. It’s very much around actually having a very open mind to what is possible.”