Rugby: Five South African teams to compete in Europe

• Five South African club teams to compete in European competitions.
• The agreement will go through next season “and beyond”.
• Springboks considering to join Six Nations.

Organizers have announced that five South African club teams will compete in European competition next season.

Stormers, Bulls, and Sharks will compete in the Champions Cup after finishing second, fourth, and fifth in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

The Lions, who placed 12th in the URC, will compete in the Challenge Cup, while the Cheetahs, who have never competed in the URC, have been invited.

Their presence, according to the organisers, will provide “a new level of elite rugby.”

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“This is a critical step forward in realising our vision of growing the game and our own tournaments, continuing to deliver strong returns for our leagues, and creating an ever-higher standard of mouth-watering matches for our fans,” said Dominic McKay, chairman of European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR).

According to the EPCR, the agreement will go through next season “and beyond.”

When the Sharks, Stormers, Bulls, and Lions joined Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and Italian teams in the revamped URC last year, their eligibility for European participation was guaranteed.

The Kings and Cheetahs, who had previously represented South Africa in the Pro14 – the tournament’s previous iteration – have been replaced by the four.

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South African Rugby Union (SARU) is seeking to connect itself more closely with Europe, with whom it shares a time zone, rather than with the southern-hemisphere powerhouses of New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina.

In 2020, South Africa’s club sides will no longer compete in Super Rugby against teams from New Zealand, Australia, or the Pacific Islands.

At the international level, the Springboks have committed to the Rugby Championship, but they are also considering joining the Six Nations.

“We now have the opportunity to rub hands with the best clubs from England and France in two other championships that have captivated rugby fans all over the world for more than two decades,” SARU president Jurie Roux said.

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