Back to the future: URC looking at Super Rugby-style tours to cure SA teams' travel blues

A return to four-match tours - ala Super Rugby - and charter flights are two prominent measures the URC is exploring to relieve South African teams' travel headache since joining the northern hemisphere.

CEO Martin Anayi, speaking on a media call for the URC, admitted that the issue is the biggest potential threat for stalling what is - according to several metrics such as broadcast audiences - becoming a compelling product.

While the organisation itself is proactively investigating solutions, the root of the problem - that being the post-Covid economic landscape - was out of its control.

"I think travel has been well documented. It's definitely been a challenge," Anayi said.

"When we put together a travel plan, which was a business case presented to the other participants in terms of pitching the expansion of the tournament, the price of an average flight ticket was 35% less than it is today in South Africa.

"That 'natural' inflation has been quite difficult for South Africa financially. European teams' travels to Africa have been financially covered centrally, while SA Rugby take responsibility for their local franchises' travel.   

"The slight gaps in that are around travel policy and such like, as well as funding, so we brought in Qatar Airways to help in that regard and it's worked to a certain degree, but there's a helluva lot more to do there."

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Indeed, SA Rugby and its franchises remain forced to foot their travel bills until the local governing body becomes a full shareholder late next year, when it can claim from the central kitty.

The sponsorship agreement with Qatar is also problematic in the sense that it requires South