South Africa and the other unions to stay on with SANZAAR until 2030.
Springboks stick with Rugby Championship
Despite taking no part this year, the Springboks will play in the Rugby Championship for the next ten years, SANZAAR announced on Wednesday.
We are in the midst of a Tri-Nations tournament, with Argentina, Australia and New Zealand competing without world champions South Africa. However, SANZAAR confirmed that all four unions have signed on to keep the competition until 2030.
Related: South Africa withdraw from Rugby Championship 2020
The Rugby Championship will be reformatted to include a 12-match structure. Each team will play each other on a home or away basis through the new mini-tour match schedule that was adopted in 2019.
SANZAAR chief executive Andy Marinos said: “The southern hemisphere rugby powers have recognised the need for change in these difficult times and have committed to an international rugby future through to 2030. The re-commitment by the four unions to the long-term future of the international game is an important start as we embark in a new direction.
“This is the first of a number of announcements that will be made over the coming weeks and months as we continue to plan into 2021 and beyond.
“The disruption during 2020 has been significant. However, despite the numerous setbacks and the inherent complexity of our vast geographical expanse, we have managed to keep the game alive and look forward to the remainder of the revised Tri-Nations to bring the curtain down on the 2020 season.”
South Africa are in talks to move their big franchises into an expanded Pro16 competition. It had also been rumoured that parties were exploring the possibility of South Africa entering the Six Nations.
Of the moves, SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said: “We welcome the changes announced to the Rugby Championship with our SANZAAR partners and we are looking forward to seeing what the new strategic plan for the competition entails, with possible international expansion on the cards.”
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