Former Ireland head coach Eddie O’Sullivan believes South Africa will join the Six Nations because of the financial reasons
In response to rumours that South Africa may replace Italy in the Six Nations Championship, the Six Nations issued a statement on Friday declaring they are “neither considering any discussion nor making any plans to add or replace any participating Union.”
Despite that declaration, conversations about the tournament’s future have continued, with the Sanzaar CEO recently revealing that the Springboks are weighing their alternatives.
O’Sullivan was speaking on RTE’s Against The Head when he revealed that he expects South Africa to be added to the Six Nations in the future while criticizing Italy’s performance in the tournament.
Eddie O’Sullivan on the future of the Six Nations.
“I think it’s inevitable that it’s going to happen. I’ve been saying this for 10 years. It’s much easier for [South Africa] to play in Europe. It’s going to change the tournament, it’ll be worth a lot more money,” O’Sullivan said.
“Let’s talk about Italy on the basis that the Italian experiment is over for a long time. There was a lot of talking during the week, ‘What about Italy?’
“Italy are in the tournament 22 years. They’ve had plenty of time to make a stamp on it, and they haven’t been able to. They have a 12 per cent win ratio, which means they are the whipping boy of the tournament.
“Ireland go in next week knowing it’s not enough to beat Italy. We’ve got to score a bonus point and rack up 30 or 40 points or we’ll pay a price at the end of the tournament. It skews the tournament.”
