It may point to hostile rivalry (6)
I believe the answer is:
needle
'hostile rivalry' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't see how they can define each other.
'it may point' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'it' could be 'e' ('e' can mean 'electronic' which is similar to 'IT') and 'e' is located in the answer.
'point' could be 'ne' (NE is an example) and 'ne' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for needle that I've seen before include "point" , "Implement with eye" , "Item for sewer" , "It's difficult to find one in a haystack" , "Unnecessary" .)