Erasmus' bold call on Rugby Championship participation

03/06/2025 04:19 AM

SPOTLIGHT: Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus came up with a potential solution to South African franchises playing 12 months a year.

Since ditching Super Rugby following the global pandemic in 2020 and joining the European-based United Rugby Championship (formerly Pro 14) in 2021, the players of the top four franchises have been subjected to a full year of rugby.

There are mandatory Springbok resting protocols, but there's also the case of the Currie Cup suffering, which resulted in the once-prestigious competition becoming a watered-down afterthought.

URC sides are now using it as a development tournament. This is a direct effect of South Africa's franchise teams moving north.

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Rassie Erasmus suggested that the Rugby Championship should be moved to the start of the year and align with the Six Nations..

The tournament's current timeslot (August to October) puts South Africa on the back foot as the latter part of the competition overlaps with the URC.

"I think it would sort out a lot of problems, player load and injury-wise, with the URC and European Cup it would definitely free up a lot of weeks for us," Erasmus told the Daily Telegraph.

Talks of South Africa joining the Six Nations have been bubbling under even before they moved their franchises to the Northern Hemisphere.

Erasmus, however, suggested that it might not be an option for the World Champions.

He said that whilst he admires the competition, he isn't sure if there's a place for the Springboks to make the move and ditch the Rugby Championship.

"Us joining the Six Nations, I'm not sure how that sits with other people," Erasmus added. "We admire the competition, and when I was at Munster, I realised how big it is.

"For me, having been there for 18 months or so, I'm not sure if the Six Nations and Northern Hemisphere would want us in there.

"There are a lot of traditions that are a little bit more valuable than us just fitting in and thinking we can just go into a competition that has a hell of a lot of heritage, so I'm not what the answer is there."

With additional reporting by The New Zealand Herald