Etzebeth promotes Springboks possibly joining Six Nations: 'It would be great'

Springbok fulcrum lock Eben Etzebeth, a proponent of aligning the global rugby schedule, said he’d be for the idea of South Africa joining Europe’s Six Nations tournament.

SA Rugby has already migrated its domestic franchises away from Sanzaar’s Super Rugby competition to the United Rugby Championship, which gave rise to their entry into the European Champions and Challenge Cup.

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Now, the national team’s move from the Rugby Championship to the Six Nations is being mooted.

"I think it would be great being a part of that (the Six Nations)," Etzebeth told the UK’s The Times.

"It would mean the schedules will be a bit more aligned. I never want to move away from playing the All Blacks, Wallabies and Argentina, so as long as there’s still space to also play those matches.

"So, if we can keep those rivalries aligned it would be great for us, for rugby, and it would align the schedule for the best interests of the players.

"I don’t know where the game will go in the future, or where we will play in the future, but being part of the European schedule and the Champions Cup just makes sense."