Why SA’s big four teams simply have to win in Europe

The Springboks face a hectic 2021 schedule in which their world champion status will undoubtedly be closely scrutinised, while our four franchises will need to prove they are top-class teams when they make a first foray into Europe.

Unsurprisingly (given how often it has happened through the years), there has already been plenty of dissing of the Springboks, even though they have not been able to play a game since that heady triumph in Yokohama. They will get their chance to prove their mettle soon, with nine Tests to be played between July 3 and October 2.

That includes an epic series against the British and Irish Lions and four Tests in Australasia, where South Africa have just three wins against their hosts in the last decade.

With the relationship with Sanzaar starting to get a bit old and tired, accompanied by not unexpected bickering, there has been a great deal of excitement over SA Rugby’s move into Europe. That relationship is still new and there is still some wooing to be done before we can say we’ve scored a try, so to speak, but it did come as a shock when the Director General of European Professional Club Rugby, Vincent Gaillard, was rather dismissive of South Africa this week.

For South African rugby’s move to the northern hemisphere to be successful in the long run, they have to be playing at the highest level of European club rugby, which is the Champions Cup. SA Rugby have been negotiating on the basis that their teams can qualify for the Champions Cup through their performances in the Pro16, just like the leading teams of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy.

But this week, Gaillard was quoted by international news agency AFP as saying: “There will be no South African clubs in the European Cup next season, that’s for sure. In the Challenge Cup, theoretically, it is possible. We are looking at the possibility, but it is quite unlikely. There are details to settle, especially at the Pro16 level.”

In the same breath, Gaillard announced that EPCR had signed a new deal with the countries involved that would run through until at least 2030 and would see the competition include 24 teams in two pools of 12. How can they make such long-term plans without even considering the involvement of their new partners, who just happen to be world champions?

Fortunately, Martyn Hindley, the EPCR communications director, confirmed on Friday that their competition formats “remain under discussion”.

But these days all professional rugby revolves around the financial bottom line and the only way for our franchises to assure themselves of a place in the elite European competitions is by proving that their involvement would be of great service to their game.

If our franchises, fielding global drawcards such as Lukhanyo Am and Siya Kolisi, Duane Vermeulen and Marcell Coetzee, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Steven Kitshoff, and some really exciting young Lions players like Wandisile Simelane, can produce rugby of sufficient quality then they can make themselves indispensable. If their market value is high enough, then the Champions Cup will be clamouring to get them involved.

So when the winners of our local Rainbow Cup competition travel to Europe to play their champions of the same Pro-14 based league on June 19, it is going to be vital for them to put up a great showing. If our best are not going to be dominating the Pro16, then there is not going to be much incentive to get them involved in the proper European tournaments.

But I am going to go out on a limb and say I expect our teams to do very well in Europe. There have been critics of our domestic standard over the last year, but there have also been definite mitigating factors, due to Covid, for some of the uninspired rugby.

But having watched matches from both sides of the equator over the last few weeks, I think the physicality, intensity and tempo of our teams is going to really trouble their European opponents.

They were the qualities that took the Springboks to World Cup glory and hopefully they are going to take our franchises to the top table in Europe as well.