New rugby competition to 'complement' Super Rugby, Forrest says

Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest AO says his new rugby competition will complement, rather than rival, the existing Super Rugby set-up.

Forrest unveiled the Indo Pacific Rugby Championship this morning in Perth - comprising of six teams chosen from 10 countries.

Determined to work with the Australian Rugby Union, Forrest said the competition will benefit the national game.

"The IPRC is about making Rugby again one of the greatest sports in Australia and making Australian Rugby Union one of the greatest teams by 2019 Tokyo World Cup," Forrest said.

Changes will need to be made to the current standard ARU playing contract to enable players can compete in the IPRC.

The IPRC has also assured the ARU it will release players to compete for the Wallabies should they gain national selection.

"We will be making the investments to bring Australia's greatest players back and to prevent Australia's greatest players leaving and we will be providing the capital so we can compete effectively with Europe and Japan," he said.

The Asia-Pacific region is considered the fastest growing consumer market in the world.

The competition will run for three months starting in August next year.

It will consist of 33 matches across 10 rounds - each team to play rival sides twice before the top four contest for the ultimate prize over two weeks of finals.