The Bokke have left the building

Pro14, SA rugby clubs form championship
Andrew Baldock
AAP
Tue, 15 June 2021 4:53PM

Plans have been unveiled for a new United Rugby Championship next season, featuring northern and southern hemisphere teams.

The 16-team league, forged from an agreement between PRO14 Rugby and SA Rugby, will start in September.

It will comprise South Africa's four Super Rugby sides - Sharks, Stormers, Lions and Bulls - along with current PRO14 combinations Cardiff, Ospreys, Scarlets, Dragons, Leinster, Munster, Ulster, Connacht, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Benetton and Zebre.

For the first time, and subject to contract terms being finalised with European Professional Club Rugby, South African teams will be eligible to play in the Heineken Champions Cup from season 2022-23.

URC chief executive Martin Anayi claimed the new league would "begin to reshape the world of club rugby," while SA Rugby boss Jurie Roux described it as "a watershed moment in South African rugby history".

The competition format comprises four regional pools of four, with teams playing each other home and away in their group, plus one fixture against each of the other 12 sides.

The top eight teams in a single table after those 18 regular season encounters will then enter a straight knockout phase, culminating in a grand final.

All points won during the URC season will contribute to rankings in the regional pools, and the highest-ranked team in each of the four groups will earn a Champions Cup place for the following season.

The remaining four allocated Champions Cup spots will go to the four highest-placed league teams that have not already qualified through their regional pools.

"Fans have always asked more of our league, and now we are taking it to new heights," Anayi said.

"Forming the United Rugby Championship will begin to reshape the world of club rugby."

SA Rugby chief executive Roux added: "Our teams will be pitting themselves against the leading clubs from four nations, steeped in rugby tradition and folklore.

"They will do it without having to cross time zones or acclimatise, while 100 per cent of matches will kick off in South African prime time."

https://thewest.com.au/sport/rugby-u...ship-c-3119703

Sounds like conferences, to me!

How many decades and TV broadcast agreements did that take to finally come to fruition?

SA teams in the European Cup? Interesting times ahead.

So SANZAR is dead. Time for Aus and NZ to make a new company/setup with PI and maybe Japan and try to get something going in our time zone. SA will probably not fit into the Nations Cup because of commitments in Europe that won’t tie into our calendar.

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Originally Posted by SNOB

So SANZAR is dead. Time for Aus and NZ to make a new company/setup with PI and maybe Japan and try to get something going in our time zone.

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You mean something like ...oh I dont know, Indo Pacific Rugby Championship (or IPRC for short)?

SANZAR isn't dead at International Level - South Africa knows where their bread is buttered Internationally.

Wonder how that's looking after the Bulls had their blue butts smashed in Treviso yesterday? 35-8.

So I haven't really been paying attention to South African Rugby recently, were the Bulls at full strength for this game?

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Originally Posted by jargan83

So I haven't really been paying attention to South African Rugby recently, were the Bulls at full strength for this game?

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I'm not up with their list. But it was the final so I'd guess it was best available.