According to Daily mail source South Africa is set to replace Italy in the six nations from 2025
Despite Wednesday’s SANZAR announcement Springboks will continue playing in the Rugby Championship until 2025, amid reports of a revival of the World Nations Championship concept.
World champions South Africa are accelerating their move to join the Six Nations
Well-placed sources have suggested that the most likely plan is for the six-team format to be retained, rather than any expansion of the championship.
That means that the Boks would replace struggling Italy, which would enhance the competitiveness of the event but reduce any future prospect of participating unions agreeing to a model of promotion and relegation, without the safety net of the weaker Azzurri.
Asked last autumn about the option of expanding the tournament, Six Nations chief executive Ben Morel said: ‘The Six Nations have added to and reduced its teams very few times in its 140 years, so it’s something we’d be very cautious about doing. We’re pretty happy with what we have, but we’re pretty sure it could be improved.’
The Springboks want to align themselves with Europe and could play from 2025
The country’s provincial teams are already set to compete in Europe next season
But South Africa’s presence could see Italy kicked out of the tournament
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