Rassie Erasmus has squashed any lingering rumours that South Africa might be looking for a way into the Six Nations. The Springboks currently compete in the Rugby Championship among southern hemisphere nations New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, but there had been murmurings around a blockbuster move north.
Throwing 2023 world champions South Africa into the mix would have meant a dramatic shake-up to the tradition of European rugby’s biggest international tournament. And Springboks head coach Erasmus is not convinced that organisers are ready to take that leap of faith by shoehorning in a seventh nation alongside England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy.
“Us joining the Six Nations, I’m not sure how that sits with other people,” he explained. “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 sure what the answer is there.”
Last year, South African outlet Rapport reported that talks had been held around South Africa switching tournaments.
But CVC Capital Partners – the private equity company which owns a stake in the Six Nations – did not give their green light for discussions to move forward.
As he gears up for the Rugby Championship, which runs between August and October, Erasmus will at least be buoyed by the return of coach Felix Jones. The 37-year-old is back with the Springboks after a brief spell with England to be closer to his family in Ireland, but they are now set to join him in South Africa.
“I don’t want people to think it was all a plan to get Felix over there and then to come back again,” Erasmus said. “We all hoped it would work out for him. I can’t comment on why it didn’t work out with England.
“Getting him back for us is fantastic because we never wanted to lose him. We do think there are little things we have missed where we can do better and Felix is going to play a pretty vital role in that.”
