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Cheslin Kolbe joins chorus of support for Springboks joining Six Nations
By Ben Smith
Springboks superstar Cheslin Kolbe has become the latest high profile figure to put his support behind South Africa joining the Six Nations on The Telegraph Rugby Podcast.
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The 2019 World Cup hero said it ‘would be amazing’ for the Springboks to join one day in order to play the best countries each week.
The Six Nations is currently home to the world’s top two ranked sides, Ireland and France, while traditional powers Wales and England and a resurgent Scotland provide a high level of competition week-in, week-out.
The 29-year-old is familiar with European rugby having plied his trade in France since 2017, firstly with Toulouse for five seasons before joining Toulon in 2021 on a record transfer.
“I think if it does happen, it would be massive and change the whole scenario regarding the Six Nations,” he told The Telegraph Rugby Podcast.
“For the Springboks, it would be amazing to be part of the Six Nations. You get to play against top countries each and week when you’re part of that competition. It would be amazing if it comes off one day but who knows.”
Kolbe joins Eben Etzebeth as the latest player to endorse a move north for the Springboks, the Sharks lock spoke last November of the logic behind aligning the calendar.
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“I’ve never played in Durban when it’s this hot,” Etzebeth told The Times.
“When we played in Super Rugby, after the end-of-year tour – except the guys who play in Europe – we’d all come back and be on holiday for about six weeks. It’s something new.
“I would like the whole rugby schedule to be aligned, so we can manage players, play at the same time and rest at the same time. At the moment it’s a bit of a difficult situation to handle.”
“I think it would be great being a part of that (the Six Nations),” Etzebeth continued. “It would mean the schedules will be a bit more aligned. I never want to move away from playing the All Blacks, Wallabies and Argentina, so as long as there’s still space to also play those matches.
Many predications have been made that a move is inevitable since the four South African club franchises joined the reformed United Rugby Championship.
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However, SANZAAR announced late last year that South Africa has committed to the Rugby Championship until 2025 ending any speculation in the short-term.
The longer-term future is still uncertain after SANZAAR chief executive Brendan Morris confirmed that South Africa told the alliance that they will explore their options after that commitment ends.
RSA would be known as the "whore of the rugby world" a "private dancer for money any old music will do" No, stay and continue to be hardened and sharpened in the southern hemisphere furnace that is the TRC and include Japan while we're at it.
Replacing Italy would kill the competition, let RSA play in TRC and include Fiji and Japan.
Why would they join 6 Nations? Money. And replacing Italy with SA would greatly improve the 6 Nations.
Why would RSA join Six Nations? Why would SANZAAR add Fiji and Japan in TRC to make it competitive as Six Nations?