SA teams elevated URC competition, says CEO: 'We couldn't have scripted it any better'

Despite vehement initial opposition from some sections in Europe, South Africa's participation in the United Rugby Championship (URC) has elevated the former Celtic League's competitive value, according to URC CEO Martin Anayi.

Dissenting voices from Stuart Barnes to Clive Woodward have pushed back at SA's European migration, which started with the former PRO 14 and has extended into the URC and European Champions and Challenge Cup.

Rumblings are that the Six Nations will welcome the Springboks next.

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"Our teams had played against the Cheetahs and Southern Kings already in the PRO14 as it was, so a lot of them were very positive," Anayi told media at the URC season two launch this week.

"It's probably split into two groups. The top of the table clubs, the likes of Leinster and Munster, were most supportive of South African teams coming in.

"The reason for that was they wanted to keep pushing themselves forward in the league. They wanted the league to get better and the URC to be of a higher competition standard than it has ever been before.

"And South African teams have done that."

Not only did South Africa’s "Big Four" franchises participate in the URC, they won the whole thing and hosted the first all-SA final in Cape Town, which the Stormers won by beating the Bulls in the inaugural edition.

It took South Africa 11 years to achieve the same feat in Super Rugby, when the Bulls did a number on the Sharks at Kings Park in 2007.

URC season one's viewership number grew exponentially because of the South African teams doing well and three of them, including the Sharks, making the playoffs and qualifying for Europe.

The invitation to continental competitions was extended to