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Confusion surrounds Rugby Championship following reports of Springboks desertion
By Online Editors
Plans to run a makeshift Rugby Championship this year may have been thrown into disarray following reports South Africa are set to play in the north instead.
The world champion Springboks, who were also the 2019 Rugby Championship winners, are likely to join the new eight-team northern hemisphere tournament at the end of this year, according to French media.
Japan have pulled out because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, and World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte told Le Progress in France there are "advanced discussions" with South Africa.
"The Japanese will not come to Europe....we are looking for a nation to replace them. We are in advanced talks with South Africa. It would be great to be able to face the Springboks, world champions in the title, but it's not yet done," Laporte said.
This is at odds with a report last week, quoting Sanzaar CEO Andy Marinos, that New Zealand was still set to host the Rugby Championship in November and December, with West Australia a back-up option.
There are lingering concerns about New Zealand's ability to host the Rugby Championship - a tournament which has been dominated by the All Blacks - because of the virus outbreak in Auckland.
But Marinos told Stuff: "I feel as if we're close…my philosophy is you've got to control the controllables, and make sure we're doing everything we can so that when the green light is given we can turn things on."
There is general confusion over rugby's schedule with various conflicting reports coming out.
The eight-team tournament will involve England, Wales, Ireland and Fiji in one pool, and Scotland, Italy and France confirmed for the other.
Georgia was originally considered as a replacement for Japan, but that may have changed.
Adding to the confusion, the BBC quoted a South Africa Rugby spokesperson who said they had "no knowledge of such an arrangement being planned".
Marinos said last week that New Zealand was opposed to shifting the Rugby Championship to March/April, to align with the Six Nations, but Australia was more open to it. This year's hastily arranged RC will run from November 7 to December 12.
The eight-team tournament replaces the usual autumn schedule for the northern teams, and will start on November 15 which is a fortnight after the Six Nations ends. The final is at Twickenham on December 6.
It is also reported that England players have agreed to a 25 per cent pay cut for the matches, a drop of about $12,000 per game.
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Latest Comments
Im guessing you never lived in NZ under r dern and red commie labour
We were forced and in some cases mandated to take the V - I know of 7 people who D taking it and many with untold injuries - Minimium 12 K D in NZ taking it - it was never safe never effective never worked just Maimed and K'd qe were close to being thrown into quarantine camps C was only a rebranded Flu
Oz Govt MOH have completed their c commission - they admit they never had the proveable data to make justify their statements and decisions & that the public will never accept it ever happening again - they fired rubber B into peaceful protestors Ardern is hated here ( 1 M patriots forced her out ) - bloomfield her side kick 2IC dr D excempted 11k from taking it - we (not u) know who they were the Pol and Public servants who knew they were fatal - A zeneca pulled it off the market due 2 excess D's - Japan banned them - called them stupid poison -
P M Shinzo Abe opposed the v and sent over a million doses back - because of that he was murdered - So were the heads of several African nations who also opposed the fake v they were k'd and their replacements allowed their countries to be swamped with them - C was V wasnt bought in fo C - C was bought in for the V
Im not here to talk politics but if u want to I can all day especially to a RED neck commie like you - whats it going to be Rugby or Politics or mud slinging give me something to think about - surprise me with something meaty - just not word salad
Go to commentsIt doesn’t matter how good your rugby team is, at the highest level you are going to have momentum swings in games.
Wales having a good ten minute period next week- and they will- doesn’t mean the Boks will be playing poorly.
It’s if you can make the most of it when you have the momentum. And the current group of springboks do enough when they create enough, as great teams do.
For comparison, the All Blacks played their best game of the year against France.
Still lost. And it’s only France’s second game so they aren’t firing at 100% yet.
The ABs haven’t got to that ruthless stage that the springboks are at yet.
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