SANZAAR gives Springboks 48-hour Rugby Championship deadline

On Monday, SA Rugby released a statement giving an update on their participation in the Rugby Championship, confirming that it would be finalised early next week.

Sanzaar has now brought forward a shorter deadline by confirming that world SA Rugby has until Friday to decide on sending the Springboks to Australia for the Rugby Championship.

The Southern Hemisphere championship, which also includes Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, will be held entirely in Australia this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Springboks are due to defend their title between 7 November and 12 December, but several hurdles need to be cleared for it to be confirmed.

In SANZAAR'S statement, the governing body said: ‘Following a Sanzaar chief executive’s teleconference call on Tuesday, 13 October, the Sanzaar member unions have agreed to provide South Africa Rugby with an additional 48 hours to finalise its internal stakeholder discussions.

‘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 timetable for the Springboks’ participation in the Rugby Championship when available in the coming days.’

The South African government lifted the ban on international sporting participation earlier this month, but SA Rugby said it was seeking further clarification on the regulations.