Fitzy slams ‘Seven Nations’

All Blacks great Sean Fitzpatrick is firmly against any move to have the Springboks join an expanded Six Nations.

The former New Zealand skipper spoke on the issue ahead of the Laureus Awards, which he chairs and where the Springboks are nominated for team of the year on the back of their World Cup success in Japan.

Speculation continues to bubble about South Africa abandoning their southern alliance with New Zealand, Australia and Argentina to make a ‘‘Seven Nations’’, seeing benefits commercially and by operating in a similar time zone.

‘‘I don’t like that,’’ Fitzpatrick, who lives in Britain and is a regular TV pundit for the Six Nations, told Sport24 as the world’s sports stars gathered in Berlin for this weekend’s awards.

‘‘I want South Africa in the southern hemisphere. I can appreciate the commercial significance of playing in the northern hemisphere, but if you look at the Six Nations, it’s just not right.

‘‘It [Six Nations] is the greatest competition in the world and I absolutely love it. I love being at Cardiff and at Twickenham . . . but I just can’t envisage going to Cardiff and watching South Africa play Wales in the Seven Nations. ‘‘That’s not right.’’

He felt an opportunity was missed to merge the hemispheres when World Rugby’s proposed

Nations Championship didn’t get the nod last year.

Fitzpatrick, whose legend grew with his intense rivalry with the Springboks, acknowledged the struggles of the southern teams to keep their players and make the game commercially viable.

Fitzpatrick, who captained the All Blacks to their first test series win in South Africa in 1996, felt New Zealand was being clever by bolstering an alliance with Japan and ‘‘offloading’’ stars there for sabbaticals which kept top players fresh and operating in the appropriate pay brackets at someone else’s expense.

Fitzpatrick joined England’s 2003 World Cup winning coach Clive Woodward in condemning the Boks’ proposed move north.