The unions' chief executives - Richard Reid (Otago), Roger Clark (Southland) and Colin Jackson (North Otago) - all feel the proposals will lift the standard of rugby in the country.
Unions must make their submissions on the proposals to the New Zealand Union by July 16. A NZRU board meeting will consider the final report on August 1-2 and it will be made public in early September.
The Otago union wants the salary cap to be reduced. In the past financial year, it had a salary cap of $1.62 million.
"It's all linked," Reid said. "If the Super 14 is going to expand and the Air New Zealand Cup is a separate competition it is about spending the money in two places.
"We are currently looking at 11 different options in the discussion paper. We would like to see the salary cap come down significantly, to about $750,000."
The Otago union likes the concept of a larger Air New Zealand Cup because it is a national competition.
"But we need to be convinced about the financial viability of it," he said.
"It is good to have a lot of teams in the competition, but financially it is a struggle."
Reid emphasised that if the number of teams in the Air New Zealand Cup has to be reduced because of financial constraints, the Otago union would like the number of teams to be on the high, rather than the low, side.
"We don't want to have a watered down Super-14 competition," he said.
Reid likes the mid-March start for the Super 14 and the concept of giving club rugby its own window and making players compete in club rugby to make the Air New Zealand Cup side.
Southland's Clark was on the committee that formed the discussion document.
Southland had a salary cap of $1.89 million in the past financial year. But it is a complicated system and Southland did not spend this amount of money.
"We spent $1.65 million," he said. "But like all 14 provincial unions, we want the salary cap to come down to make it possible for New Zealand rugby to remain sustainable. The review said we must get the cap down."
He wants the Air New Zealand Cup to become a semi-professional competition as it used to be in the early 1990s.
Southland wants the 14-team Air New Zealand Cup competition to remain, but some unions want it reduced so it can be completed in 13 weeks.
Clark said there was consensus on keeping the three domestic windows - Super 14, club and Air New Zealand Cup - separate.
"We all agree that club rugby has got to be protected," he said.
"It is not good enough for the Air New Zealand Cup to infringe on club rugby early in July. We have got to protect our club window by starting the Air New Zealand Cup later."
Jackson said that the most important thing for North Otago was to have an automatic promotion-relegation system.
"Play-off games, no. There must be automatic promotion-relegation," Jackson said. "It gives all provincial unions a lifeline.
"This time, we have got to get it right. It's crucial for New Zealand rugby that we get a competition format that every union is comfortable with.
"The most important thing is that the rugby consumer, the spectators, are happy. We don't want people voting with their feet.
"I can't see any reason why they broke up the three divisions provincial system because it was working perfectly well. It looks to be heading back in that direction."
What would the change do for North Otago rugby?
"The Heartland competition is working OK, but it means you can't go anywhere," Jackson said.
"If they are changing everything again, I want to see a system that gives every union an opportunity."
• Salary cap levels
What the provinces paid in 2007
Wellington - $2,054,531
Southland - $1,893,910
Waikato - $1,881,943
Canterbury - $1,845,965
Auckland - $1,793,100
Otago - $1,621,914
Hawkes Bay - $1,585,488
Tasman - $1,259,700
North Harbour - $1,251,679
Manawatu - $1,235,940
Northland - $1,199,768
Taranaki - $1,168,592
Bay of Plenty - $1,106,200
Counties-Manukau - $937,187
