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South Africa's Rugby Championship withdrawal is hugely popular with Springboks fans

By Josh Raisey
(Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

The decision by South Africa to withdraw from the upcoming Rugby Championship in Australia has been widely welcomed by Springboks fans. It was announced this Friday that the world champions will not be travelling to take part in the tournament.

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SA officials cited “complications related to the Covid-19 pandemic and concerns about seriously jeopardising player welfare” as the reasons for not taking part. 

SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said that the spread of South African players across many leagues in the world made congregating them for the tournament too complex. 

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He said: “This is a hugely disappointing outcome for our supporters and commercial partners but the ongoing impacts of the pandemic in multiple dispensations means we are unable to deliver a Springbok team without seriously compromising player welfare.

“Players in England, Ireland, France and Japan are subject to differing local regulations and travel protocols and potentially imminent renewed lockdowns in some territories.” 

While the current pandemic may be the leading cause of this decision, the South African public are looking at this at another angle. The 2019 Rugby Championship winners have not played a Test match since winning the World Cup last November and although Australia and New Zealand have only played one so far, both nations have played a lot of domestic rugby. 

Meanwhile, domestic rugby in South Africa has only just resumed after months of inactivity. There were concerns among Springboks fans about sending a severely underprepared team to the tournament. These are the sentiments shared by director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, who highlighted the discrepancy in preparation between the competing nations, although Argentina are in a similar position to the Springboks. 

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Though a large contingent of players based in Europe have been playing frequently in recent weeks, those based in South Africa or Japan have not and Erasmus said players need a minimum of 400 minutes of game time before playing Test rugby at the Rugby Championship.

The priority for many fans is to ensure South Africa are focused on the British and Irish Lions tour next July and August, and travelling to Australia may not help that. Having said that, as it stands South Africa do not have a fixture before the first Test against the Lions next July. 

That match could potentially be the team’s first match in almost 20 months, although surely arrangements will be made in the intervening time. 

 

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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