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Rugby Championship Trophy (Getty Images)
- While rugby will return to South Africa at the end of the month, there is still no word on whether the Springboks will take their place in the Rugby Championship.
- SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux has indicated that plans are still underway to allow the Springboks to defend their title.
- The Rugby Championship is scheduled to begin on November 7 in Australia.
While the South Africans were greeted with the news of the return of local rugby on Tuesday afternoon, there was still no clarification as to whether the Springboks would play in the next Rugby Championships or not.
SA Rugby confirmed that the home season will resume on September 26 with a friendly double game at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, when the Bulls take on the Sharks and the Lions take on the Stormers on Super Fan Saturday.
READ | The wait is over! Rugby returns to South Africa at the end of September
That will be followed by the Springbok Showdown, a one-of-a-kind match that will pit the best local stars and up-and-coming talents on October 3 with two teams, Springbok Green and Springbok Orange chosen by the rugby board, Rassie Erasmus and Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber.
The third element of rugby’s return is a local double-round competition between seven franchises, which begins the weekend of October 10.
But word of whether the Springboks will participate in the Rugby Championship did not come.
SA Rugby Chief Executive Officer Jurie Roux confirmed that plans to do so are still underway, but depended on international travel and other government restrictions, as well as player welfare and high-performance considerations.
“We are not yet in a position to confirm the plans for the Springboks, but it is still our wish that they play Trials this year,” Roux said.
“Not only would it be great to see the Rugby World Cup champions in action, it would also give Bok’s management valuable preparation for next year’s tour of the British & Irish Lions,” he added.
The Rugby Championship, originally scheduled for New Zealand, will take place in Australia from 7 November.
– Compiled by Sport24 staff
