SA Rugby could pull the plug on their Investec Champions Cup participation as they seek to ease the strain on their overworked players.
Since joining the United Rugby Championship, they have effectively put a foot in both the northern and southern hemisphere camps.
South Africa have aligned their club season with the north but they are also still featuring in the south’s annual international competition, the Rugby Championship.
As a result, some of their Test stars are on the go all year round with no proper pre-season in their schedule.
That means the governing body are exploring ways of reducing the load on their players with Netwerk24 reporting that their Champions Cup future is being discussed internally.
Champions Cup logistical issues
After a season in the URC, they were invited to participate in Europe’s premier competition, but it has resulted in a number of logistical issues.
With the increased travelling, the South Africans have struggled to make it deep with no sides making it past the round-of-16 this season.
It has also led to teams from France and England, as well as the Republic, naming weakened outfits, which diminishes the credibility of the Champions Cup.
Speaking after SA Rugby’s annual meeting, president Mark Alexander did not specifically mention that competition, but did admit that they are reviewing their schedule.
“We generate our income from participating in tournaments. Participation is important, but our players are overworked,” Alexander said.
“We will hold a workshop in July in which we will have to decide which competitions will be retained and which ones we can drop.
“We have to find a balance so that our players can rest enough. They cannot play 11 months of the year.”
One option which has been mentioned previously is potentially shifting the Rugby Championship and playing it at a similar as the Six Nations around February and March.
That would provide a significant step towards creating a true global calendar and it is something which South Africa would be in favour of.
NZ Rugby hold firm
There were even suggestions that, at one stage, Rugby Australia were on board with the idea, but New Zealand Rugby have provided a significant obstacle.
It would probably require Super Rugby Pacific being moved and NZ Rugby have so far refused to budge on their position.
“Discussions about a global rugby calendar have been going on for 14 years without anything concrete coming to fruition,” Alexander said.
“If you do the same thing over and over again, you’re not going to get a different outcome.
“We have to make tough decisions as an organisation and we will do that over the next month or two. It has to be done in the best interests of our players.”
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