Rugby: No plans to expand Six Nations, says CEO amid South Africa interest

LONDON – Six Nations chief executive Ben Morel said there are no plans to expand the championship or change the participants, amid media reports of interest from South Africa’s rugby union.

The country has been increasingly aligning itself with the northern hemisphere, with four clubs joining the United Rugby Championship in 2021 and three entering Europe’s Champions Cup in 2022.

“I can understand that dynamic, but the players in the club game in South Africa needed a competition to play in, which has been an issue on their side,” Morel told the Telegraph.

“There has obviously been some interest, but we are not engaging in any of those conversations. We are focused on what we think is the right balance for the game, and that is finding competitive fixtures that will bring some pathway to the developing nations as well.

“We are having really productive calls and exchanges with the southern hemisphere on that and hopefully we can come to some agreement in the relatively short term and we believe that is in the interest of the game.”

South Africa will continue to play in the annual Rugby Championship against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina until at least 2025, organiser Sanzaar confirmed in 2022 amid speculation the Springboks were looking to join the Six Nations.

Morel added there had been no discussions about changes to the Six Nations format or the introduction of promotion and relegation, saying his focus remains on revamping the July and November Test windows.

“There is no conversation about expanding the Six Nations right now, the entire focus is on finding the right solution and improvements to the July and November windows and finding a more competitive narrative for those fixtures,” he said. “Our whole energy of the Six Nations is focused on that. So there’s no conversation regarding anything else. There never has been.”

The 2023 Six Nations championship begins next Saturday.

Separately, Andy Farrell, the coach of 2022 runners-up Ireland, said lowering the legal tackle height to waist-level could leave players “sitting ducks” after England’s Rugby Football Union decided to make the change in community games from next season to reduce head injuries.

Ireland are also the sport’s top-ranked team ahead of Six Nations champions France.

The RFU announcement on Thursday has been met with criticism, with England internationals Joe Marler and Lewis Ludlow joining amateur players and coaches in expressing concern.

The move comes amid growing focus on how head impact exposure and concussions affect players’ health.

Groups of amateur and former professional players have brought claims against rugby bodies alleging they negligently failed to protect them from concussion and non-concussion injuries that caused various neurological disorders.

“If you are ever just saying to a kid ‘you need to tackle lower’, then you become even more vulnerable in my opinion,” said Farrell.

“If you’re just sitting there with your arms in front, trying to wrap, with your head down, you’re a sitting duck.

“The coaching and technique of how it’s applied to tackling below the waist is absolutely crucial, otherwise we’re going to have a serious problem.”

Ireland fly half Jonny Sexton, speaking at the Six Nations launch on Monday, said the rule change may actually increase the number of concussions in the sport.

“Of course we need to get the head shots out of the game, but the tackles we really need to take out of the game are the reckless, out of control, sprinting out of the line,” he said.

“It’s not like you can’t get concussed by chopping someone’s knees. I see a hell of a lot of concussions from people getting their head on the wrong side, a knee to the temple or a hip even to the side of the head. So, I strongly disagree.”

REUTERS