Don’t Put Your Money on South Africa Joining the Six Nations in 2025. Image credit: "RSA vs USA 64:0" (CC BY 2.0) by @sebastian1906
It’s the rugby competition that fans not just in Europe but all over the world look forward to every February. Held when the very worst of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter weather is due to be over, the Six Nations Championship is the chance to see who from England, Scotland, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, France and Italy will prevail.
Take a look at the 2022 Six Nations betting and you’ll see that it’s the French team who are the firm favourites this year with odds of 4/7. They certainly started off in fine form with victories over Ireland and Italy. Turn to Italy, however, and it’s a very different story. In 16 of the 20 years they have been part of the competition, they have come bottom of the six. The only records they have set have been in points conceded – 239 in 2021, an average of over 47 a match – and in the biggest-ever losing margin of 57 points when England beat them 80–23 in 2001.
This poor run of form has led some in the rugby world to wonder if it wouldn’t be better if a more competitive team altogether could be included in their place – with South Africa being a leading contender. There have also been rumours that Italy could retain their place and a Seven Nations competitition could be held instead.
The inclusion of the Springboks could be good for them, providing international rugby for the team in their late summer. The fact that the country is in approximately the same time zone as where the current matches are played would be a good fit for broadcasters.
But, although this proposed change to the current order of things would not happen until 2025 at the earliest, it seems likely that it’s not going to happen at all.
That’s because the Six Nations organisers have now stated that it’s certainly not on their agenda for now, or even for the future. The prevailing opinion from the governing bodies of the countries currently included is also that the status quo should be preserved. Add to this the fact that Italy would have to agree to withdraw and it all becomes even more unlikely. For a start, they would need to be heavily financially compensated – and it is a country that is committed to developing the sport so this would be a distinctly retrograde move.
The inclusion of South Africa would possibly also have a knock-on effect for future British Lions tours, including starting a bidding war between the US, Argentina and Japan for the 2033 expedition.
It’s the rugby competition that fans not just in Europe but all over the world look forward to every February. Held when the very worst of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter weather is due to be over, the Six Nations Championship is the chance to see who from England, Scotland, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, France and Italy will prevail. Every country is keen to come out on top and the ultimate ambition must be to achieve the Grand Slam by winning all five games.
Take a look at the 2022 Six Nations betting and you’ll see that it’s the French team who are the firm favourites this year with odds of 4/7. They certainly started off in fine form with victories over Ireland and Italy. Turn to Italy, however, and it’s a very different story. In 16 of the 20 years they have been part of the competition, they have come bottom of the six. The only records they have set have been in points conceded – 239 in 2021, an average of over 47 a match – and in the biggest-ever losing margin of 57 points when England beat them 80–23 in 2001.
This poor run of form has led some in the rugby world to wonder if it wouldn’t be better if a more competitive team altogether could be included in their place – with South Africa being a leading contender. There have also been rumours that Italy could retain their place and a Seven Nations competitition could be held instead.
The inclusion of the Springboks could be good for them, providing international rugby for the team in their late summer. The fact that the country is in approximately the same time zone as where the current matches are played would be a good fit for broadcasters.
But, although this proposed change to the current order of things would not happen until 2025 at the earliest, it seems likely that it’s not going to happen at all.
That’s because the Six Nations organisers have now stated that it’s certainly not on their agenda for now, or even for the future. The prevailing opinion from the governing bodies of the countries currently included is also that the status quo should be preserved. Add to this the fact that Italy would have to agree to withdraw and it all becomes even more unlikely. For a start, they would need to be heavily financially compensated – and it is a country that is committed to developing the sport so this would be a distinctly retrograde move.
The inclusion of South Africa would possibly also have a knock-on effect for future British Lions tours, including starting a bidding war between the US, Argentina and Japan for the 2033 expedition.
So, while it may look like an appealing idea on paper, it’s never going to work out in practice for a number of reasons, but predominantly for financial ones. And, in any sport, these are often the most powerful of all.
So, while it may look like an appealing idea on paper, it’s never going to work out in practice for a number of reasons, but predominantly for financial ones. And, in any sport, these are often the most powerful of all.