Boks, Pumas to open ‘Rugby Championship’
8 Nov 2011
The Springboks will play Argentina in their first game of next year’s Rugby Championship, the four-team southern-hemisphere tournament replacing the existing Tri-Nations.
An agreement confirming Argentina’s participation was signed in Auckland recently by the Sanzar Joint Venture partners after several months of negotiations with the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) and the International Rugby Board (IRB).
The new-look tournament has been given a new name and a new fixture line-up with two Tests on each match day. Each participant plays home and away matches against each of the other three participants.
The Boks open their campaign against the Pumas in South Africa on 18 August before taking part in the first Rugby Championship match on the South American continent a week later. The match venues will be announced in due course.
‘The regular participation of Argentina at a higher level is long overdue and we are excited about their inclusion in The Rugby Championship,’ said Sanzar CEO Greg Peters, ‘Playing in the Championship will have significant benefits for Argentinian rugby as a whole and will bring new energy to the jewel in the crown of Sanzar.
‘The Pumas, as they showed at the recent Rugby World Cup, play an exciting and different brand of rugby to the other three teams, which will definitely add a new dimension.’
According to a statement by Sanzar, the new name of the Rugby Championship reflects its claim to be the ultimate contest, featuring teams that are currently ranked first, second, fourth and seventh in the world.
‘The Rugby Championship is an annual contest between the ‘best-of-the-best’ in world rugby – nations who have won six of the seven Rugby World Cups,’ said Peters.
Saru CEO Jurie Roux said he hopes these changes will result in a more balanced tournament. In the past, South Africa has suffered because of travel.
‘This is a significant moment in the history of Southern Hemisphere rugby and marks the launching pad to a dramatically changed landscape. It will add a new flavour and dimension to Sanzar rugby and offers the prospect of promoting rugby in other South American nations.
‘It also ensures a more logical and balanced Championship with fixtures and travel evened out across the region.’
The 2012 Championship will kick-off on 18 August 2012 and conclude on 6 October 2012. A Sanzar delegation will travel to Argentina in November on a fact-finding visit during which it will conduct venue inspections and hold discussions with the UAR, host broadcasters, sponsors and other key stakeholders to ensure the smooth transition from Tri-Nations to The Rugby Championship.
The Rugby Championship fixtures:
18 August 2012: Australia vs New Zealand, South Africa vs Argentina
25 August 2012: New Zealand vs Australia, Argentina vs South Africa
1 September 2012: Travel Bye
8 September 2012: Australia vs South Africa, New Zealand vs Argentina
15 September 2012: Australia vs Argentina, New Zealand vs South Africa
22 September 2012: Travel Bye
29 September 2012: South Africa vs Australia, Argentina vs New Zealand
6 October 2012: South Africa vs New Zealand, Argentina vs Australia
391 Comments
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8 Nov 2011, 09:46 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-47:
Given the amount of rugby that will be played, they will only release the Boks in need of game time that has recovered from injury – and then its still up to CC coaches to include them or not.
8 Nov 2011, 09:46 am
@John Galt(John Galt)-48:
True.
Not too bothered personally about the CC becoming less glorified. Time that it becomes ‘somewhat’ of a feeder tournament.
8 Nov 2011, 09:47 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-49:
You dont think this will ultimately be a good thing for Argie rugby?
Aside from a loss of income from not playing in Europe, I reckon a few of the Argies players currently in Europe will want to try and return and play at home so they can get more international exposure against the best sides in the world.
Could be a long road but ultimately it has to be a good thing for Argentinian rugby as a whole.
8 Nov 2011, 09:47 am
My understanding is that from 2012 the group of rugger tournaments are collectively called the “Professional Over Extension Series”….
8 Nov 2011, 09:47 am
@John Galt(John Galt)-44: Not even this last Currie Cup was ‘real’.
8 Nov 2011, 09:52 am
@John Galt(John Galt)-53:
Argentina Rugby Union has refused to bring in a professional rugby provincial championship in Argentina.
So I doubt we’ll see many of them return to Argentina.
Could see a few play Super Rugby though if they eventually get a team, but that would again cause problems with having to travel so far. Wouldn’t make much sense handing them a team, and then asking them to not play in Argentina.
8 Nov 2011, 09:53 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-49:
Assurances have been made that all of Argentina’s top players will be released. Otherwise SANZAR would’ve never agreed to the expansion.
8 Nov 2011, 09:55 am
@John Galt(John Galt)-53: Its definitely heading in the right direction and Argentina definitely have to be included in World Rugby, its terrible that they haven’t. But you will soon see that the European clubs pose a huge problem to the international players release. There are certain international weekends open for the players to be released, if they do not happen to be agreed, then the clubs will not allow their players to be released. There is absolutely no way that the clubs will agree to release players for an extra 3 months on top of what they already do.
SANZAR need to bust their balls to give the Argies a couple of franchises for the super 15 if they want to make this work properly.
8 Nov 2011, 09:56 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-49: The European (mostly French) clubs have to release the Argentinian players as the tournament falls within an official IRB test window.
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-57: yes
8 Nov 2011, 09:56 am
@BULLET(BULLET)-1: speaking of malema, did you see the hotness he was with in Mauritius? dang!
http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/11/06/the-mabilu-wedding—photos#3
8 Nov 2011, 09:56 am
So are there any new rumours on the bok coach?
8 Nov 2011, 10:00 am
The biggest losers locally will be the Vodacom Cup. The new feeder tourny will end up being the CC.
8 Nov 2011, 10:02 am
Argie team will look something like this:
1. Ayerza (Leicester Tigers)
2. Creevy (Montpellier)
3. Figallo (Montpellier)
4. Albacete (Toulouse)
5. Carizza (Biarritz)
6. Senatore (Toulon)
7. Leguizamon (Lyon)
8. Fernandez-Lobbe (Toulon)
9. Vergallo (Toulouse)
10. Contepomi (Stade Francais)
11. Agulla (Leicester Tigers)
12. Rodriguez (Stade Francais)
13. Tiesi (Stade Francais)
14. Camacho (Exeter)
15. Hernandez (Racing Metro)
8 Nov 2011, 10:02 am
I missed this somewhere, Conrad Jantjes is off to France next year.
8 Nov 2011, 10:03 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-60: lol @ the purple pimp suit
8 Nov 2011, 10:05 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-64:
Thank fark.
8 Nov 2011, 10:11 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-57: Considering how much the 6 nations teams especially England and France struggle to deal with the clubs, I doubt it, its just simply too long. This looks like its been rushed through and everything has been said it will be ok, but they’re crossing their fingers hoping it will be!
If you think about the season in France, where most of the Argentinians play, it goes from August to June, which is already tremendously long, but now, they then get a month off and then go into the toughest tournament in the world, then straight back to their day job….. Its madness! They have to have another place to ply their trade other then Europe if this Rugby tournament is to work.
8 Nov 2011, 10:12 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-60:
Hot damn!!!!!! Yoh!! Isiphalaphala shhhiiittt!!! Ubuhle bemvelo!
8 Nov 2011, 10:13 am
I prefer the name:
“Four Nations”
8 Nov 2011, 10:15 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-60:
ushiya
8 Nov 2011, 10:15 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-28:
i agree with you. i suspect our saru admin guys were once again asleep at the wheel.
cchrist it galls me to think our far we have fallen in standards.
cant hate the kiwis for being wide again in the negotiations and getting the best for the all blacks as usual.
8 Nov 2011, 10:17 am
Currie Cup will be consigned to what it is… a depth-builder for the real competition… the S15…
Winning the RSA conference packed with Springboks in both home and away games… is a far greater achievement than a competition that includes three sub par teams on top of the other 5 unions and no Boks for the majority of the competition if at all…
8 Nov 2011, 10:17 am
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-65: don’t mess around boy, juju is the original PLAYA from the HIMALAYAS
8 Nov 2011, 10:20 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-68: yoh sbali UYABABA lomntwana wuPELE PELE…
8 Nov 2011, 10:21 am
@Gunther(gunther)-70: and she’s brushing her teeth & rinsing her mouth with Dom Perignon hehehe
8 Nov 2011, 10:21 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-73:
hahahaha!! Someone was a fan of the Martin Lawrence Show..Cos thats CLASSIC JEROME!!!!
8 Nov 2011, 10:23 am
The Rugby Championship?
Is it just me or is this the beginning of a play by Sanzar to take on the World Cup in the wake of certain nations crying about how much it “costs” them to play in world cups (didn’t that little argument die down quickly).
Add a select team or two from the Northern Hemi and suddenly you have the The Rugby World Championship.
The RWC.
ahem.
8 Nov 2011, 10:23 am
gotta bounce out of the office a bit, later boytjies…
8 Nov 2011, 10:23 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-75:
Uthanda izinto…Lol
8 Nov 2011, 10:24 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-76: you know Romy ROME was the MAN hehehe
8 Nov 2011, 10:24 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-75:
she makes a fine revolutionary cadre.
I think mshini wants to show her his mshiniwam.
8 Nov 2011, 10:28 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-32: That’s better. They could have done worse, the could have called it “The Quadrangular”.
8 Nov 2011, 10:29 am
Logo for this comp here:
http://www.ruggaworld.com/2011/11/08/4n-fixtures-and-logo/
8 Nov 2011, 10:41 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-80:
Of Course! i say Jerome’s in the House(X2) I say Jerome’s in the eh ooh eh ooh (Slam door)….WATCH YOUR MOUTH!!! Romy was king….(Shenay-nay,Otis the Security guard,Bob from Marketing,Elron Preston(dont you know no good) etc…
Once the funniest man alive.
1.Richard Pryor
2.Eddie Murphy
3.Martin Lawrence
8 Nov 2011, 10:42 am
@Gunther(gunther)-77: I thought there was a bit of that about the name. Sounds like when the official RWC video game is ripped off by a cheap imitation. It’s almost as if they’re trying to give the IRB a nudge over the threat to pull out of the World Cup over finance.
8 Nov 2011, 10:44 am
Super 15 is overkill.
This years competition was average compared to the super series of yesteryear
8 Nov 2011, 10:51 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-86: IMO this season of S15 was the most exciting in the history of superrugby. With many teams still in the running until the end of the league phase.
8 Nov 2011, 10:53 am
Its a good thing that Heyneke ,and his young group of boks, start with the Argentinians. It wont be a walk over, but it would be a good test to start their new approach and tactics etc.
I think playing AR will help to make games against the auzzies and kiwis exciting again…
8 Nov 2011, 10:59 am
This competition was agreed to over a year ago. So I don’t think it has anything to do with this year’s RWC, although it will give them more bargaining i suppose.
I’m sure that the overriding motivation was simply money. More broadcasting, more TV time.
8 Nov 2011, 11:03 am
@Jeez(Jeez)-88:
I think Heyneke wants to test and experiment with his ideas at the Bulls, rather than the Boks.
8 Nov 2011, 11:03 am
Absolutely mad schedule. Said so on the Burger thread yesterday.
What a shame we sold our Currie Cup down the river. Currie Cup as we know it will die a slow death. Or rather a quick one. No Boks will play in that tourney next year. What a bloody shame. Think the Currie Cup is probably the best tourney in the world. Just look at the final of our CC this year we had a full house 62 000 supporters at the stadium. Which other domestic tourney gets that amount of support? NONE anywhere in the world. Why did we allow our CC to take back seat to this nonsense schedule?
We should never ever have agreed to the new format of S15. That is where it has all gone wrong. We have to stop to play the June Internationals between that tourney. What a bloody mistake that is. 3 week break and the top teams will lose momentum. One week before the Boks play England we have Bulls/Stormers – Lions/Sharks playing each other. So will the new Coach pull the Boks out of those games? Think he will otherwise we will have had no training at all with the coach. Makes the S15 less interesting without our best. But we have to have our best for the Boks. So again whoever agreed to this madness was greedy or plain daft. One week we all playing against each other, the very next week the Bok players from each of our franchise will then be playing with each other. How quick will players gel for the Boks? Then gel back for their franchise after 3 weeks? Also the players that are not Boks they will just have to go into training for 3 weeks to keep fit to get back to S15 after 3 weeks. The only players that the 3 week break will benefit from will be the injured. Cause sure as heck we will have injured players by that time. So will our Boks have the best team, cause of some injured players? Crazy schedule. Madness.
We gonna have to have much bigger squads for next years S15. Probably 40 or we will see too many injuries. Will need 2 players of equal quality for each position.
Pleased the ‘Rugby Champsionship’ will only run after the S15 has completed. Then again we will be travelling the world. Right around the globe we go. How many players will be left standing after the RC?
Just too much rugby. We need to send our youngsters every year from now for the eoyt. Or let them scrap that.
8 Nov 2011, 11:05 am
Yes, Bok players will be wrecked with injury come of the EOYT. It will probably compromise their 4N challenge too. NZ will be better prepared and the Argies by contrast will be fresh after having their off-season.
8 Nov 2011, 11:09 am
They should have 2 pools in S15 especially after the southern kings join in. I like watching Super rugby but damn! Its just too much.
Id rather have a shorter more exciting season and look forward to an end of the year bok tour than a year of rugby. The boks will be fresher, theyll have more than enough time to get their structures right etc. Then the EOTY tour should be something to look forward to…
but with such a long and ongoing season of super rugby, you wouldnt or shouldnt expect much from a exhausted bok squad….unless you take a b team…
imo
8 Nov 2011, 11:14 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-86: Totally agree Mishini. S15 is now just way, way too long.
If Oz wanted a longer tourney why not let them play each other again after SuperRugby finished after normal time end of May. Let that be a seperate tourney for them. That could be their domestic tourney. Why the heck haul the whole lof of us NZ/SA into what they want. Crazy. We have our own domestic tourney where we do just that play each other twice. No need for it in SuperRugby.
In SuperRugby we should all only be playing each other once. Not each conference playing each other twice. Just daft that. Bring back the old format anyday. It worked and worked well.
Only need to have a semi then and a final. Instead of the 5th and 6th placed teams still in it at the end with a play off. Daft that. Those teams ending there should not be in it for the cup only the last 4.
8 Nov 2011, 11:17 am
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-85:
Exactly.
I mean really.
THE Rugby Championship.
8 Nov 2011, 11:20 am
@Puma(Puma)-91:
I agree greed is the biggest factor. And hopefully rugby supporters will start to step up and in some way boicot the ********.
Id rather have a full strength bok team than a b team because all the top players get played into the ground.
Everyone loves the game, but I believe that the rugby public really cant support it if its overkill. Everyone is saying it, so why arent anybody acting on it?
Imo the currie cup is a better tournament without the boks. Its good to see the new up and coming players. And it helps with depth building…
That being said, with bigger squads, the quality of players wil go down and thus the game….
=There just isnt enough players with natural talent. We’re going to see more and more players who are probably only good enough to play vodacom cup, who will feature in super rugby…
Lekker afgewaterde squads!
8 Nov 2011, 11:21 am
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-92: Absolutely. Also in SuperRugby we now have the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th having a play off. With that it brings more travel. Should be based on a league format. Whoever tops the log wins it and scrap the play offs, semi and final. That would cut down on some time saving.
Sharks had to travel to NZ for their play off last year. We had plenty Boks in our team. Just crazy having to travel all the way to NZ to play S15 then again at the end of it. Then AGAIN for 4Nations (Rugby Championship) far too much travel and far too much rugby. Madness.
8 Nov 2011, 11:21 am
@Jeez(Jeez)-93: Yeah, maybe 2 pools with promotion and relegation would be the best way to approach it and expand the number of teams with the Kings and Some Argie teams, maybe some others as well. Less matches, but better quality, without loads of thrashings for teams that are out of their depth.
8 Nov 2011, 11:25 am
@Puma(Puma)-94:
Well said,why the hell would they play each other twice. Greed greed. Players well being definitely not taken into consideration. Coaches have complained about it, players dont seem to make too much of a fuss, their probably greedy buggers too. I really hope this year they loose money. Their never going to sell out any games. Maybe the final and semi’s. Rugby supporters should have a petition or something.
8 Nov 2011, 11:26 am
@Jeez(Jeez)-96: Agree just too much rugby.
Would rather we just went back to the old format it worked well in SuperRugby. That way we got our Boks back for CC for about 5 games.
Yes agree it would be also great to have up and coming youngsters playing CC. But with this very long S15 we will have to have bigger squads and those youngsters probably will be drafted into S15 and then play CC while the Boks in our teams will never play CC again. Huge shame that.
I like to see the best playing for Boks all of the time. Except in a world cup year then we need to rest them, cause these greedy buggers will continue to have 4Nations (RC. Will have to get used to the new name..hehe) and a very long SuperRugby in that year.
We gonna see many injuries. My feeling this will make many of our top Rugby Players want to play overseas. It may be long over there but without the travel.
Saru should have thought of that as well.
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