Why a South African club winning a European trophy shouldn't open the door to Springboks joining the Six Nations

Sharks odds on in Challenge Cup final against Gloucester

Dominic McKay will sit down with rugby writers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday and wax lyrical about what a wonderful season it has been for the tournaments we knew previously as the European club competitions.

A few hours later, the Sharks will bid to become the first side from South Africa to get their hands on one of these prized pots. The Durban-based franchise are odds-on favourites to beat Gloucester in the Challenge Cup final, rugby’s equivalent of the Europa League. It’s hard to imagine Uefa opening its doors to clubs from outside Europe but rugby is a smaller market and having invited the South African teams into the hybrid United Rugby Championship, the next logical step was to include them in the European cups.

McKay, chairman of European Professional Club Rugby which runs the two tournaments, knows expanding into South Africa opens up new territories and gives access to more TV revenue. He also believes it raises standards. This is the second year that the Stormers, Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Cheetahs have been involved and while a South African team have yet to go beyond the quarter-finals of the top-tier Champions Cup, the Sharks have the chance to make history on Friday against a Gloucester side featuring Scotland internationals Adam Hastings and Chris Harris.

The EPCR Challenge Cup trophy on display at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the Sharks mascot walking past prior to the final against Gloucester on May 23. (Photo by Patrick Khachfe/Getty Images)

When announcing the expansion of the competitions two years ago, McKay described the inclusion of the South African franchises as “a crucial step forward in bringing to life our vision of growing the game and our own tournaments, continuing to deliver strong returns for our leagues and creating an ever-higher standard of mouthwatering matches for our fan”.

But where does this assimilation of South African rugby into the European game end? For some, the next logical step is inviting the Springboks into the Six Nations. Turning it into a seven-nation army of a tournament would have telly execs salivating but also risk ruining its unique charm. The Six Nations works because it captures the public imagination like few other sporting spectacles, where mass ranks of rival supporters mingle freely with each other to enjoy sport of the highest calibre.

South Africa’s participation would change that. Travel would be difficult, as would scheduling, with one team sitting idle every weekend. SARU, the South African game’s governing body, is thought to be keen to join the Six Nations and having the world champions on board might appeal to CVC, the private equity firm which has a one-seventh stake in the championship. But would it enhance the tournament? And have the South African clubs improved the EPCR competitions to any great degree? Probably too early to say would be a fair answer to the latter but their inclusion does feel slightly off kilter in a tournament whose raison d’etre is to find Europe’s best club.

That will matter little to the Sharks on Friday if they get to lift the Challenge Cup in north London but allowing such a scenario to propel a Boks-in-the-Six-Nations bandwagon is something to be guarded against, and that is not a slight on South Africa and what they bring to the sport.

The Sharks have taken on Scottish opposition in the URC.

Franco Smith and Sean Everitt have been forces for good at Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh and having South African teams in the URC seems to work in what was already a bit of a mongrel league – but let’s keep the Six Nations as it is.

Gloucester v Sharks: EPCR Challenge Cup final, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Friday, 8pm. TV: live on TNT Sport.

Gloucester: 15. Santiago Carreras; 14. Jonny May, 13. Chris Harris, 12. Seb Atkinson, 11. Ollie Thorley; 10. Adam Hastings 9. Caolan Englefield; 1. Jamal Ford-Robinson, 2. Seb Blake, 3. Fraser Balmain, 4. Freddie Clarke, 5. Arthur Clark, 6. Ruan Ackermann, 7. Lewis Ludlow (c), 8. Zach Mercer. Replacements: 16. Santiago Socino, 17. Mayco Vivas, 18. Kirill Gotovtsev, 19. Albert Tuisue, 20. Jack Clement, 21. Stephen Varney, 22. Max Llewellyn, 23. Josh Hathaway.

Sharks: 15. Aphelele Fassi; 14. Werner Kok, 13. Ethan Hooker, 12. Francois Venter, 11. Makazole Mapimpi; 10. Siya Masuku, 9. Grant Williams; 1. Ox Nche, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 3. Vincent Koch, 4. Eben Etzebeth (c), 5. Gerbrandt Grobler, 6. James Venter, 7. Vincent Tshituka, 8. Phepsi Buthelezi. Replacements: 16. Fez Mbatha, 17. Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18. Hanro Jacobs, 19. Lappies Labuschagne, 20. Dylan Richardson, 21. Cameron Wright, 22. Curwin Bosch, 23. Eduan Keyter.

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (Fra).

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