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Sanzaar has confirmed that SA Rugby has until Friday to decide to send the Springboks to Australia for the Rugby Championship.
The Springboks must defend their title in Australia between November 7 and December 12, but several obstacles need to be overcome for it to be confirmed.
The South African government lifted the ban on participating in international sports a couple of weeks ago and instructions for managing such participation were published last week.
SA Rugby was due to make a decision earlier this week, despite rugby director Rassie Erasmus having previously set October 10 as the deadline.
In a press release published Wednesday, Sanzaar confirmed that SA Rugby will have another 48 hours to complete internal negotiations and make a decision on the Springboks’ participation in the tournament.
“Following a teleconference from the Sanzaar CEO on Tuesday, October 13, Sanzaar member unions agreed to provide South Africa Rugby with an additional 48 hours to finalize their internal discussions with stakeholders,” the statement read.
‘This will now delay the scheduled departure of the Springboks from South Africa to Australia. Sanzaar will provide an update on the resolution of these discussions and a schedule for the Springboks ‘participation in the Rugby Championship when it becomes available in the coming days.’
The decision is likely to come down to the well-being and management of the players, given that South Africa only started its national Super Rugby Unlocked tournament last weekend.
Meanwhile, New Zealand and Australia have already completed their respective Super Rugby tournaments and played their first Bledisloe Cup match last Sunday.
The next two games of the Bledisloe Cup, on Saturday October 31 and Saturday November 7 in Sydney and Brisbane respectively, will not be affected and will go ahead as planned.
Photo: EPA / Jan Touzeau
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