South Africa to join Six Nations?

It’s a fallow Six Nations week but the competition remains firmly front of mind amidst reports of plans for the Springboks to join the competition – possibly at expense of Italy – from 2025.

The ‘news’ has been met across the board with shock and outrage, but it can hardly have come as a surprise. With its provincial franchises already participating in the United Rugby Championship alongside teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy, South Africa wanting to join the Six Nations is something of a no-brainer.

Whether it is actually a good idea, however, is another matter.

The arguments for and against are pretty obvious. Yes, South Africa’s inclusion would improve the quality of rugby in the competition, undoubtedly, and there would be a clear benefit financially to the tournament, with a likely sizeable increase in TV and sponsorship revenue, a point not lost on Six Nations investors CVC who are reportedly behind the plans to include the Springboks. 

The potential damage to the wider game, however, is huge – with any exclusion of Italy (which no doubt would be fought tooth and nail) disastrous for Italian rugby.  

The alternative – a Seven Nations competition – is a possibility, but not only would it fundamentally change the nature of the northern hemisphere competition it would also decimate the Rugby Championship in the southern hemisphere. There is talk that South Africa could play in both competitions, but realistically how practical (and, more to the point, how unfair) would that be?

The problem remains that no one is willing to address the elephant in the room – the need for a fully co-ordinated international global rugby season – and, to mix my metaphors horribly, seize the bull by the horns.

Maybe, just maybe, this could be the wake up call the powers-that-be require and the catalyst for significant change.

I suspect, however, that the inevitable vested interests will prevail and that, while some may see some economic benefits, the world game as a whole is likely to shrink.

In case I haven’t made myself quite clear – I don’t think South Africa joining the Six Nations is a good idea!

Total Flanker – the older I get, the better I was