South Africa’s rugby bosses are reportedly in talks with their New Zealand counterparts to see the Springboks and All Blacks restore the tours of the past.
According to Sunday newspaper Rapport, the planned tours would take the form similar to the British & Irish Lions, with a Test series amid games against the local franchises.
However, while the tours are at an “advanced stage” of talks, they are also dependent on World Rugby’s plans for a global season getting approved by the northern and southern hemispheres.
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World Rugby will meet in October over the plans for a global season, which will ideally see the Rugby Championship and Six Nations held over the same period.
“We are working with New Zealand on something exciting that we will announce in the next few months,” SA Rugby president Mark Alexander told Rapport.
“If the global season becomes a reality, it will help because we will then see all the national teams playing at the same time.”
Currently, there is no space in the calendar for long-term tours, as the top South African rugby players go straight from playing in the United Rugby Championship to international duty with the Springboks.
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