Six Nations chief shoots down Springbok inclusion talks

Six Nations CEO Ben Morel insists there are no plans to expand the championship to include the Springboks.

South Africa's franchises have made a successful transition into the northern hemisphere club competitions.

The Stormers won last season's inaugural URC, while all of the country's franchises have qualified for the knockout phases of the Champions and Challenge Cups.

Due to these successes, speculation has persisted that the Springboks could eventually join the Six Nations.

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However, in an interview with The Telegraph, Morel poured cold water on these rumours.

"There is no conversation about expanding the Six Nations right now, the entire focus is on finding the right solution and improvements to the July and November windows and finding a more competitive narrative for those fixtures," Morel said, as quoted by Reuters.

"Our whole energy of the Six Nations is focused on that. So there's no conversation regarding anything else. There never has been.

"I can understand that dynamic, but the players in the club game in South Africa needed a competition to play in, which has been an issue on their side. There has obviously been some interest, but we are not engaging in any of those conversations."

The Springboks will continue to play in the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina until at least 2025, organisers Sanzaar confirmed last year.

The Boks finished second behind New Zealand in last year's Rugby Championship, winning four of six games.