'Absolutely not!' Sam Warburton just destroyed the idea of South Africa joining the Six Nations on TV

Former Wales captain Sam Warburton has led calls against South Africa's inclusion in the Six Nations.

Warburton was backed up by fellow international captains Martin Johnson and John Barclay in his view that the Springboks do not belong in the competition.

Earlier this month, tournament organisers were forced to deny reports they were preparing to welcome the defending world champions on board.

Details were thin on the ground, but the suggestion was the preferred option was for the 'Boks to replace perennial strugglers Italy.

Despite the Six Nations' denial, there is still a sense that South African involvement is coming down the pipe, with their domestic sides already playing in the United Rugby Championship.

Warburton, though, feels the Six Nations has a responsibility to developing other European nations.

"I love South Africa and I loved playing against them but absolutely not [when it comes to] the Six Nations," he told the BBC.

"I understand there is talk about aligning rugby teams on time zones as opposed to hemispheres, and I can understand that because South Africa is out on its own a little bit.

"It's in the same time zone as us and it's miles away from counterparts in Australia and New Zealand.

"But the Six Nations, for me, has a responsibility to develop European rugby. It's Europe, who is the best in Europe? It's the European championship.

"Adding South Africa into that makes no sense whatsoever.

"For me, we need to develop Europe. That's bringing in promotion and relegation and it would take someone much smarter than me to figure out how it works.

"But whoever comes bottom of the Six Nations, we should never just drop them straight down because the standard coming up might not be good enough.

"There