Pulling out of championship will inflict financial toll on SA Rugby

SOUTH African rugby fans would have been delighted to see some action on their television screens this weekend – albeit in vastly different formats.

Those fans who were brave enough to get up at 3am to watch the Bledisloe Cup match between the Wallabies and the All Blacks in Wellington were treated to a thriller in the best tradition of the famous rivalry between the two countries.

The game ended 16- 16, including seven minutes of dramatic extra time, where both teams had a chance to sneak a win.

The standard of rugby was high, despite some rain around, and both teams can feel well pleased.

Best of all, the stadium was packed with spectators, which really signified that international rugby was back.

The match also showed that our world champion Springboks will have their work cut out if they play in the Rugby Championship.

SA Rugby are due to announce this week whether the Boks will indeed fly to Australia.

Former Bok coach Jake White, now in charge of the Bulls, added his voice to the ever- growing chorus of those who feel the Boks will be on a hiding to nothing and should stay at home, given that the Aussies and the Kiwis have been playing domestic competitions far longer than the South Africans and will be much better prepared.

SA Rugby will of course be losing a lot of money if they pull out, and that is going to weigh heavily on their minds.

At home, the first weekend of the “Super Rugby Unlocked” competition saw some interesting results, with the Sharks edging out the Lions, the Cheetahs playing some wonderful enterprising rugby in typical Cheetahs style to thrash the Pumas, and Griquas pushing the Bulls all the way at Loftus.

Sadly, all the South African games were played in empty stadiums, which inevitably took an edge off proceedings.

Here’s hoping that we will soon be able to join our New Zealand and Australia counterparts in going back to our rugby and sports stadiums, even if it is in limited numbers due to Covid- 19.