De Allende wishes to see Boks remain in The Rugby Championship

Springbok centre Damian de Allende has expressed a desire for South Africa to remain in the Rugby Championship in future.  

The conversation regarding the Boks joining up with the Six Nations after 2025 is still ongoing, but de Allende believes his team belong in the Southern Hemisphere competition. 

 “I really enjoy playing against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina," de Allende said, speaking to irishmirror.ie. 

"We’ve been playing against them for quite a while and we’ve played against a lot of club teams in Super Rugby as well and I think that competition’s a whole different challenge. 

“So, yeah, I don’t know. Maybe in the future it will change but not anytime soon, I hope. I enjoy playing against those guys. 

"A lot of us South Africans that are playing in Europe at the moment are lucky enough to play against the best players in Europe, and then we also get to play against the best players in the Southern Hemisphere, which are New Zealand, Australia and Argentina. 

“So I wouldn’t like anything to change at the moment. I think the Six Nations this year was incredible and it was lovely to watch. All the teams played some great rugby and it was lovely to see Italy get a win at the end of it. Obviously I was a bit sad, I felt a bit sorry for Dan Biggar and Alun Wyn Jones but that happens in rugby. 

“But yeah, I would like South Africa to stay in the Rugby Championship." 

As things stand, it could be argued that, with its provincial teams now involved in the URC and the Boks still mixing it up in the Rugby Championship, South Africa is experiencing the best of both worlds with exposure to both Northern and Southern Hemisphere talent.  

A move into the Six Nations would, effectively, render the Springboks a Northern Hemisphere side. Whether or not such a move would be best for all concerned remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that the great Southern Hemisphere rivalries would be adversely affected.