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URC chief delivers the latest blow in Cheetahs' fight for survival
By Chris Jones
United Rugby Championship CEO Martin Anayi has dismissed talks of a possible B division for the new URC competition that would offer the Cheetahs franchise in South Africa more exposure. Hawies Fourie, the Cheetahs coach, had suggested after their recent Currie Cup win over Western Province that they were hopeful of competing in a second division URC event.
However, Anayi has knocked back the idea during a midweek virtual media briefing with reporters. "It's not on the cards," said Anayi. "We have a real job on our hands... to make the URC as good as it can possibly be and we are getting there. So, not for the present."
The Cheetahs contested the old PRO14 between 2017 and 2020 and have seen a continued drain of their best players since missing out on inclusion in the URC. They and the Southern Kings were cut from the roster to accommodate the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers after the South African decide to quit Super Rugby.
Anayi, though, is aware of the problems. He added: "We do love the Cheetahs, by the way. They are a big part of our history and if we can help them in any way to find a competition that does work for them, you can rest assured that we would do that. But there are no plans for the URC second division at the moment."
The existing URC format has a 16-team league table but the four regional pools determine European qualification. The highest-ranked team in each pool - Irish, Scottish/Italian, Welsh and South African - earns a Heineken Champions Cup place for the following season with the remaining four URC berths going to the next four highest-placed overall league teams not already qualified.
Anayi remains in favour of retaining a geographical spread for Champions Cup qualification rather than a strict top-eight meritocratic system. The impact of the pandemic on the new tournament has been significant but he remains optimistic about the future with a two-year review of the competition due at the end of next season.
He added: “We took a huge hit cost-wise but we will still be more profitable than last year and that goes back to the clubs despite that experience. I’m really looking forward to a non-covid season but we just roll with punches and try to be as resilient as possible.”
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Latest Comments
> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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