The Springboks could begin the Test season as early as March after reports that Sanzaar bosses are in talks to restructure the Rugby Championship calendar to better align with the northern hemisphere.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, inside sources have indicated that there is a drive to shift the Rugby Championship from the August-October window to earlier in the year.
The talks are reportedly being driven by SA Rugby and the Argentina Rugby Union, who are concerned over player welfare as top internationals currently do not have an off-season.
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Springboks playing in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship or the other European leagues currently go straight from league action into mid-year Tests in July and then the Rugby Championship in August, before the November Test window and then go straight back into action for their respective clubs.
Argentina face a similar issue as many of their first-choice internationals play in the Vodacom URC, England or France.
South Africa and Argentina’s alignment with the rest of the southern hemisphere was thrown off when they were cut from Super Rugby at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing them to look internally or join a European club competition.
The reported radical solution would see the four-team Rugby Championship start in March, rather than in August. While there is an official World Rugby Test window in February for the Six Nations, shifting the Rugby Championship to that early in the year is not seen as an ideal solution.
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New Zealand and Australia are reportedly concerned over sending their players straight into Test action cold after a three-month break between the November international window.
The reports of Sanzaar talks come amidst rumours that World Rugby is close to finalising a global Test league from 2026, which would see a change in the July and November Test windows and a grand final between the best northern and southern nations every two years.
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