SA Rugby bigwig’s global calendar warning before crunch World Rugby meeting: ‘If we don’t do this, the game will die’
Springbok Aphelele Fassi and All Black Will Jordan during the Rugby Championship and an inset of SA Rugby president Mark Alexander.
Mark Alexander has rallied for a global calendar alignment ahead of crunch World Rugby meetings in Dublin this month.
The SA Rugby president has warned that if rugby’s bigwigs don’t come to an agreement and unify the calendar, the game faces a serious threat of losing its players to rival codes and rebel competitions.
Since leaving Super Rugby, South African players effectively play 11 months of the year due to their club and international commitments, with Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus being one of the many high-profile figures who have called for change.
The easiest solution for global alignment would be if the Rugby Championship and Six Nations were played in the same international window, with the former shifting to around February.
Rassie Erasmus’ plea
However, New Zealand Rugby have proven to be the biggest stumbling block for pushing through the change, as they are reluctant to move Super Rugby Pacific or allow the tournament to go on pause to accommodate the international window – it has been widely reported that Australia are now open to the change.
“It’s just my opinion, but I think it would be fantastic if we can all play the Rugby Championship when the Six Nations is on,” Springboks boss Erasmus said last year.
“It would be so much easier to know other teams, to be all aligned. Not having some countries flat in June and others peaking in November, and then we are flat in November.
“Law changes or variations would then be so much easier to implement right across the board, because all competitions start at the same time. There might be a big thing I’m missing, but I can’t see any reason why we, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia don’t play that competition at the same time as the Six Nations.”
SA Rugby boss: ‘If we don’t do this, the game will die’
The alignment would be hugely beneficial for nations like South Africa and Argentina who play year-round, because many of their players ply their trade in European club competitions. It was reported earlier this year that legendary Los Pumas scrum-half and former vice-chairman of World Rugby, Agustín Pichot, led the discussions about a global calendar on behalf of the SANZAAR nations during the Six Nations.
While there isn’t a clear verdict yet, Alexander hopes that the meeting next month will push the game close to alignment.
“If we don’t do this, the game will die,” he told The Australian ahead of the meetings in Dublin. “Players will go and play in rebel leagues.”
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He added: “A global calendar is of utmost importance for rugby worldwide. We need to have a dedicated window for club rugby, a dedicated window for international rugby, and we need to have a dedicated rest period. That’s about the survival of the game.”
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Like many, he believes that there is a simple fix in moving the Rugby Championship to earlier in the year.
“If you move the Championship to the same window as the Six Nations, you open up a whole lot of weekends,” he explained.
“You don’t interfere with the clubs. Our clubs now, we’re currently playing 11 months a year – and I want to get back to playing nine months.
“I know people talk about expanding the leagues. Expanding the leagues is not going to help the problem. You talk to broadcasters, they say less is more. Have quality rugby rather than having quantity.
“A whole lot of teams are not of standard to play at that level. So less is more.”
