Sanity must prevail when wielding the Super Rugby axe

Once the dust settles from the shock – yet expected – announcement that two South African franchises face the Super Rugby chop, all fans can hope for is that sanity prevails when the powers that be sit down today to determine the criteria for deciding which four local teams carry our flag from next year.

Contrary to longstanding whispers that the Southern Kings and Cheetahs are the local sides in trouble, rumours have also been rife the Bulls – the only South African team to have won the Southern Hemisphere’s most prestigious rugby crown – are also in danger of losing out.

But cutting existing teams are also not set in stone and possible mergers have also been mentioned.

All we can do amid all the speculation is hope the rugby bosses learn from past mistakes in order not to repeat the disastrous Golden Cats marriage between the Lions and Cheetahs which lasted from the late ’90s to the early 2000s.

Promising the ones that miss out promotion/relegation has also been shown up in the past, like when the Lions ousted the Kings after one season with the Eastern Cape franchise dying a slow death before their eventual return.

A proper decision is all we can ask for.

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