How would the best South African teams cope at PRO14?

South Africa’s future in Super Rugby appears to be over, as the federation’s chief executive, Jurie Roux, appeared to confirm that the country will no longer participate in the competition and will instead switch to PRO14.

Reports from Sport24 suggest that South African sports ministers have been informed that only four South African teams would be viable to participate in the northern competition, PRO14, due to economic restrictions.

This means that the Cheetahs and Kings would be at risk of being eliminated from PRO14, even though they are signed to play in the competition until 2023.

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For South African teams, the move seems to make sense. With a manageable time difference, fans would not have to wake up at odd hours to watch away games. However, since flights last more than 12 hours on some airlines, will fans be willing to take the trip regularly during the season?

South African teams would be more than used to long trips, with a trip north being significantly shorter than the 15-hour flight to Australia or New Zealand.

However, not all South African fans seem open to the idea of ​​their teams playing in PRO14. Some are in favor of a move to strengthen national competition at the Currie Cup.

If I could have an early Christmas wish, it would be a full force Currie Cup to recapture the imagination of the SA Rugby public, so SA Rugby would be forced to drop this Pro14 nonsense.

– Great South African rugby contest (@ Gr8SARugbyQuiz) August 29, 2020

Anyone who thinks that the games counting in the Currie Cup and a PRO16 would be insurmountably confusing, clearly never had to unravel the web that was the Kukri Qualifying 2 and Conference League matches.

– Jonathan Bradley (@JBradleyBT) August 29, 2020

The Springboks have made a name for themselves in the rugby world for their attrition game plan that focuses on the high ball and their pace of work on defense. This game plan would appear to suit PRO14 competition rather than the expansive Super Rugby game.

With the Stormers boasting the highest contingent of Springbok players, we could very soon see a South African rugby team challenging Leinster and Glasgow for the title.

This looks bleak … https://t.co/ksNuKboRQG

– RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) Aug 25, 2020