Rugby: South Africa will not join Six Nations, insists CEO

Evan Roos of South Africa is tackled during a test against England last November. Photo / Getty

Ben Morel, the chief executive of the Six Nations, has categorically ruled out any prospect of the Springboks joining the championship despite interest from the South African Rugby Union.

With their club franchises now playing in Europe, speculation has persisted that the South Africa national side are keen to join the Six Nations to bolster broadcasting revenue and amid concerns about Italy’s competitiveness.

However, Morel insisted there had been no discussions about any changes to the format of the championship, also ruling out any moves to consider the introduction of promotion and relegation.

“There is no conversation about expanding the Six Nations right now, the entire focus is on finding the right solution and improvements to the July and November windows and finding a more competitive narrative for those fixtures,” Morel told Telegraph Sport.

”Our whole energy of the Six Nations is focused on that. So there’s no conversation regarding anything else.

”There never has been. There has obviously been some interest, but we are not engaging in any of those conversations. We are focused on what we think is the right balance for the game, and that is finding competitive fixtures that will bring some pathway to the developing nations as well.

”We are having really productive calls and exchanges with the southern hemisphere on that and hopefully we can come to some agreement in the relatively short term and we believe that is in the interest of the game.”

Morel said he could understand why supporters would link the introduction of South African franchises into the United Rugby Championship and now the Champions Cup to links with the Six Nations for the Springboks.

“I can understand that dynamic, but the players in the club game in South Africa needed a competition to play in, which has been an issue on their side,” he added.

“But in terms of the overall equilibrium of the game, we are focusing on the July and November windows and that is the right thing to do.”

Morel also welcomed the decision by Netflix to make a behind-the-scenes documentary about this season’s championship, even though it will not be broadcast until next year because of concerns within the teams that secrets could be shared ahead of the World Cup in France in September.

- The Daily Telegraph