South Arica’s Faf de Klerk is tackled by Japan’s Yutaka Nagare during the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match at Tokyo Stadium on 20 October 2019 (Photo by Pablo Morano/MB Media/Getty Images)
- The Springboks and Japan could join the Six Nations sides in an eight-team event.
- The event, if it takes shape, will be called the ‘Festival of Rugby’ and take place in London.
- It is seen as a contingency plan in case the scheduled year-end November Tests cannot take place.
Plans are reportedly in place for a ‘Festival of Rugby’ in London later this year featuring South Africa, Japan and the Six Nations teams.
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According Britain’s Daily Mail, the continued uncertainty regarding the November Tests in Europe have forced organisers to make contingency plans.
One of the proposed plans could see an event featuring Six Nations outfits England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy joined by the world champion Springboks and the Brave Blossoms.
The idea is to have two pools of four teams each, with South Africa and Japan in separate pools.
First-choice option is for the southern hemisphere teams to play their scheduled year-end Test in Europe, but fall-back options have made for some interested alternatives.
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said one of the options include a ‘home and away’ Six Nations, starting in November and ending in the usual February-March slot.
However, the rugby boss added: “There’s another option of possibly bringing in additional invitational sides. It’s an opportunity to be creative and maybe create some type of festival of rugby.”
There have been talks in recent weeks of SA Rugby exploring a move to the northern hemisphere, with reports indicating that South Africa could leave Super Rugby with five of the country’s franchises playing in an expanded PRO18.
There have also been rumours that SA Rugby could leave the Sanzaar alliance and join the Six Nations and this latest report will add fuel to the fire.
– Compiled by Sport24 staff
