Australian Rugby Union welcomes today's historic decision to include Melbourne as the 15^th Super Rugby team when one of the world's premier Rugby competitions expands in 2011.

An independent two-man panel handed down its verdict after SANZAR requested a review - and a binding finding - on the applications received from ARU, on behalf of Melbourne, and the South African Rugby Union, on behalf of the Southern Kings.

The Expert Determination Panel, appointed last month when the SANZAR Executive Committee was unable to reach a unanimous position on whether Melbourne or the Southern Kings should be the additional team, consisted of 1987 All Blacks' World Cup winning captain and former Fairfax Media CEO David Kirk, and retired NZ High Court Judge, the Hon Barry Paterson QC.

"This is a vote for commonsense," said ARU Managing Director and CEO John O'Neill.

"Equally we want to recognise that the bid put forward for the Southern Kings was a very good one and it took an even better bid for Melbourne to win out.

"At some point in time, SANZAR will no doubt enjoy the company of the Southern Kings.

"However, at the moment, this is the right decision for SANZAR and it's a momentous day for Australian Rugby and the people of Melbourne.

"Melbourne has an extraordinary capacity for sport and we can now deliver them a Super Rugby side they can embrace and support in an established competition of genuine international standing.

"Super Rugby is the most prestigious tournament of its kind in our game and it will now reach into Melbourne, with a team playing out of the new state-of-the-art purpose-built Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

"We are obviously delighted by the outcome.

"ARU was always convinced the case for Melbourne was compelling and this decision confirms our positivity and confidence about having the fifth Australian team in Australia's second biggest city.

"The Melbourne Rugby community has been desperate for a consistent schedule of top-level matches and the establishment of a Super Rugby team will deliver that on a grand scale.

"For Australian Rugby as a whole this also ensures our national footprint at the highest levels continues to expand with Super Rugby teams in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Melbourne."

For the first decade of Super Rugby from 1996 to 2005 following the formation of SANZAR, there were three Australian teams involved - the NSW Waratahs, the Queensland Reds and the ACT Brumbies.

The competition's expansion in 2006, where the number of teams was increased from 12 to 14, allowed for the inclusion of the Western Force playing out of Perth.

Melbourne delivers Australia a fifth team when Super Rugby moves to 15 teams and a new-look Conference-style format from 2011.

There will be five teams in an Australian Conference, five in a New Zealand Conference and five in a South African Conference.

The five teams within each Conference will play each other on a home and away basis - eight games in all.

They will play four of the five teams in each of the other two Conferences home or away for a further eight regular-season matches.

"The competition revamp, together with the addition of Melbourne, will give our game an unprecedented presence in the Australian sporting marketplace," said Mr O'Neill.

There will be 40 Super Rugby matches (excluding finals) played in Australia each season as opposed to 26 under the current Super 14 structure.

Even more significantly, because of the new home and away system, there will be 20 all-Australian ‘local derbies' in Australia each season.

"Compare that to the current six all-Australian ‘local derbies' and you can understand why we are confident Super Rugby from 2011 will add a new dimension to the domestic season," said Mr O'Neill.

In all, there will be 16 regular season games for each team compared to 13 at present, and the finals series will also increase from four to six teams and from two to three weeks.

Mr O'Neill said confirmation that Melbourne will be the 15^th Super Rugby team from 2011 would allow the focus to shift to bedding down important planks for the establishment of the new team.

Ownership structure and guidelines for recruitment are among the imperatives to be finalised.