CAPE TOWN (The Southern African Times) – The Six Nations unions are reportedly keen on the idea of the Springboks playing in an Eight Nations tournament.
This comes after recent reports indicated that South Africa could replace Japan, who have withdrawn from the tournament scheduled to take place in Europe from 14 November to 5 December.
A week ago, French Rugby Federation president Bernard Laporte said the Six Nations were in advanced discussions with SA Rugby about the Springboks joining the tournament.
According to a report in The Rugby Paper, the English, Irish, Scottish, Italian and French rugby federations have unanimously thrown their support behind South Africa replacing Japan in the competition.
“South Africa want to play here this autumn,” a source told the publication. “They see it as the chance of a lifetime to get into the Six Nations, a no-brainer.
“Laporte is therefore pushing against an open door. It’s being driven behind the scenes by England. They and Wales see that it makes commercial sense.
“The RFU are very confident that by November the [UK] government will have eased restrictions on crowds to allow 30 000 at Twickenham.”
