Cape Town — It would be a “sad day for rugby” if the Springboks were to leave the Rugby Championship and join the Six Nations, but even if they do, there should still be annual Tests against the All Blacks.
That was the view of former New Zealand captain Sean Fitzpatrick on Wednesday, as rumours continue to linger around the possibility of the world champions going north in future.
The Boks are locked into the Rugby Championship until 2025, but they have been linked with a spot in the Six Nations after that — either replacing perennial strugglers Italy, or expanding the tournament to seven teams.
But Fitzpatrick is not in favour of that. The ex-All Black hooker and skipper spoke at an online press conference ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards — where he is the chairman of the Laureus Academy — which will take place virtually in April, having last been held physically in Berlin in 2020.
“I think it would be a sad day for rugby. There’s a lot of talk about it, in New Zealand and up here (UK). But I think there’s a bigger question in terms of what competitions do we want?” Fitzpatrick said from Llanelli in Wales.
“The Six Nations is arguably the best competition in world rugby at the moment, outside of the World Cup. I think we’ve seen that in the first three rounds that it’s compelling viewing. Why look at something and adding something to it when it’s not broken, without question?
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“I don’t personally like having a southern-hemisphere team in the Six Nations, because the history of the competition is northern hemisphere, basically. That’s not a great reason not to change it! But I just like the Six Nations as it is.
“In terms of the southern hemisphere, it
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