South Africa exploring the option of joining the Six Nations in 2025

"The Six Nations, World Rugby, in all walks of life people are exploring their business models at the moment.”

South Africa will explore the option of joining the Six Nations in 2025, Brendan Morris, the chief executive of Sanzaar, the rugby governing body of the southern hemisphere, has said. The Springboks, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina have all committed to compete in the Rugby Championship until 2025. However, the world champions will evaluate their options in three years time and may look to play in the Six Nations instead.

South Africa exploring options of joining Six Nations in 2025.

"They [South Africa] did put us on notice they were exploring their options., that was well before Christmas," Morris said on Wednesday.

"We’ve got a number of international and local broadcast deals that are extended to 2025. There was never any cause for alarm that we were never going to meet those obligations.

"We’re coming out of the worst three years in living memory of financial impact [due to the Covid-19 pandemic].

"Everybody has to do their due diligence in exploring what competitions to be involved in, and what provides the best opportunity for the best commercial outcome.

"The Six Nations, World Rugby, in all walks of life people are exploring their business models at the moment.”

South Africa in the expanded Six Nations.

Six Nations CEO Ben Morel said last October that they would be 'cautious' about South Africa joining the tournament, but the option was not ruled. Morel said they would monitor how the South African team fared in the United Rugby Championship. Four South African clubs - the Bulls, the Lions, the Sharks and the Stormers - left Super Rugby to join the URC in 2021. So, it is no surprise that the South African team may follow suit and seek to join the northern hemisphere Six Nations. The Six Nations offers financial rewards, and the South African time zone is closer aligned to Europe than with the other Rugby Championship nations, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

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