Proposed PRO16 will provide rugby thrills and spills
Added competition and challenges ahead with new players involved
Having SA s top teams playing in an enlarged Guinness PRO16 will be good for the competition and provide extra challenges for players, Ireland’ s rugby performance director David Nucifora said.
Though an official announcement has yet to be made, it appears to be a done deal that the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers will be playing in Europe in 2021.
Bulls coach Jake White has already started talking about the challenges his team will face on the road when they play in Europe in 2021.
” While new horizons await SA “big four teams, PRO16 will be without the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings who had been involved in the competition since leaving Super Rugby in 2017.
The Kings fell away because of financial constraints and the Cheetahs were sacrificed to make way for SA ’ s Super Rugby sides.
Nucifora has confirmed talks to include the SA teams were at an advanced stage and an official announcement could be expected in January.
“We think that Irish rugby needs to be ambitious and we also think that the PRO14 needs to be ambitious,” Nucifora said.
“Challenging our teams and challenging our players I — think that’ s what high-performing athletes want.
“Sending teams, be it at full strength or teams that are sending down some of the younger players to play and tour in places such as Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg, playing full-strength South African sides is something I believe will hold the development of Irish players in good stead for a long period to come.”
Negotiations to expand PRO14 started in September after SA Rugby voted in favour of the move to Europe after New Zealand Rugby’ s plans to launch their own Trans-Tasman competition with Australia. We don t have the size and “’ playing depth of countries like England and France, so we’ ve got to continue to do well,” Nucifora said.
“We ve got to expose our players ’ at every opportunity to the highest levels of the game to make sure they’ re ready to come through when required.”
In September, at a special general meeting of the SA Rugby Union (Saru) it was decided to explore entering four teams into an expanded PRO Rugby competition.
The decision was taken by the 13 voting member unions of SA Rugby at a specially convened meeting to determine international participation and competition formats in a Covid-affected rugby environment.
The new direction was determined by the Saru general meeting, as the highest authority in rugby.
SA Rugby then accelerated preliminary conversations with PRO Rugby Championship on SA Rugby’ s representation in the competition.
PRO Rugby Championship DAC is the owner of PRO14 and is a joint venture between the rugby unions of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy.
SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said the options had been presented to members as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the unilateral decision by the New Zealand Rugby Union to proceed with a domestic or trans-Tasman competition. Roux said New Zealand’ s decision made it impossible to deliver the 14-team Super Rugby competition that had been agreed on by the partners and for which five-year broadcasting agreements had been signed.
“Our members are excited about the prospect of closer alignment with PRO Rugby Championship and seeking a northern hemisphere future, but we would not have been taking this decision but for actions elsewhere,” he said.
It appears to be a done deal that the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers will be playing in Europe in 2021.