New calendar: Currie Cup over Christmas, Rugby Championship in March?

• A report in a local newspaper indicates SA Rugby is considering a radically changed domestic and international schedule.
• The Currie Cup could be played over the Christmas holiday period.
• This would prepare local Springbok players for the 2021 Rugby Championship which could be played as early as March and April.

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, SA Rugby is reportedly considering several proposals as part of a new domestic and international calendar.

Afrikaans newspaper Rapport indicated on Sunday that one of the proposals could see the Currie Cup played from November to January.

It would help to prepare locally-based Springboks for the 2021 Rugby Championship, which – according to the report – could be played in March and April, the same time as the northern hemisphere’s Six Nations.

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Southern hemisphere governing body Sanzaar and its northern contemporaries recently confirmed they were working closely together to develop proposals for an aligned global calendar.

According to the report, other options that SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux discussed with CEOs of South Africa’s franchises over the past week include:

– The Springboks may be involved in a new international ‘north and south tournament’ from October-November 2021.

– The Springboks’ Tests that were scheduled to be played in South Africa in July this year may be moved to October.

– Next year’s British & Irish Lions tour, scheduled for July and August, could be postponed to September or October 2021. If the tour cannot take place next year, there is a scenario where it only takes place in 2025.

– There are two options for the European season. It would either run from February to September or from December to July.

Meanwhile, there are also talks that South Africa could leave Super Rugby with five out the country’s franchises playing in an expanded PRO18.

A stumbling block to the move, however, could be the existing broadcast deal for Super Rugby.

READ | Should SA ditch Super Rugby? The cons may outweigh the pros

– Compiled by Sport24 staff