SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has slammed New Zealand Rugby (NZR) over the break up of the original Super Rugby competition.
After the Covid pandemic hit, which curtailed the 2020 tournament, it forced a rethink in New Zealand and Australia, with travel being significantly impacted.
The NZR decided to breakaway from the competition, setting up the domestic Super Rugby Aotearoa, before they and Australia joined forces to form Super Rugby Trans-Tasman and then Super Rugby Pacific.
South African rugby officials were left dumbfounded, knowing that they had been forced to go their own way, but it proved to be a blessing in disguise, according to Alexander.
Joining forces with the northern hemisphere
Their four big franchises – the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers – have joined the United Rugby Championship and have also been allowed to qualify for the European Champions Cup.
Meanwhile, the Cheetahs, who are not currently involved in the URC, have been accepted into this year’s second-tier Challenge Cup.
“When we played in Super Rugby, our guys were away for five weeks,” Alexander told reporters. “They were all young men. Many were recently married and when they wake up in the morning, their families were sleeping so the guys would wake up at 3am to speak to their families, they hated it. The travel to Australasia, with three time zones.
“The players love being part of the European set-up. Saying that also, one has to consider what happened to us on July 16, 2020 when New Zealand announced in a press article that they would not be continuing with Super Rugby in its current form.
“Thank God, two years previously we invested in the PRO16. They threw us under the bus. That had the potential to cripple South African rugby forever, so it (Europe) works for us, in how we prepare teams, we have a lot of players in Europe, so using this as a base is ideal.”
Still hurting
New Zealand’s sudden break still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth for Alexander, who insists the other countries in SANZAAR didn’t replicate the same generosity South Africa afforded during previously troubled times.
“It was the manner in which it was done. We are still hurting about that,” he added.
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“Look, we are exploring other avenues with other things, but I will never forget it. When you have partners, you normally give each other notice and that’s how partners work.
“When Australia was going through bad times, we sacrificed our broadcast money so they could stay alive. Similarly when there was problems with the earthquakes in New Zealand we did that and the same for Argentina. But when we had to drop two teams we were on our own.
“So we have to do the things that are best for South Africa Rugby and that is our principle now, we do anything that is best for our game and for our players.”