Sharks CEO Calls For Rugby Championship To Align With Six Nations
Hollywoodbets Sharks CEO Shaun Bryans has voiced his concerns about the current rugby calendar, urging SA Rugby to consider scheduling the Rugby Championship to coincide with the Six Nations.
However, Bryans emphasized that the iconic Springboks versus All Blacks Test matches, watched by millions globally due to their intense rivalry, must remain a fixture.
The core issue, according to Bryans, is the insufficient break for Springboks players, particularly those at the Sharks, who contribute a significant number of national team members. This includes Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, who remains a vital asset for the Sharks.
Just two weeks ago, the Sharks lost to the Vodacom Bulls in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final. Immediately following this, Kolisi, along with Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Makazole Mapimpi, Ox Nche, Vincent Tshituka, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Ethan Hooker, and Grant Williams, were called up to the Springboks squad to face the Barbarians at DHL Stadium on 28 June.
It’s highly improbable that Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus will rest these key players for that match, as the Barbarians have assembled a strong team.
The Sharks consistently provide more Springboks players than any other South African franchise, leading to significant challenges in managing player workload. These players frequently miss the entire pre-season due to the Rugby Championship being played in August and September, followed by the Autumn Nations Series in the UK in November.
It’s likely that these players will continue to miss matches next season when the URC and Champions Cup begin, owing to their heavy load.
While there have been suggestions since South African teams joined European competitions in 2021 that SA Rugby should simply join the Six Nations, Bryans believes that the competitive nature and massive importance of the Springboks-All Blacks clashes within the Rugby Championship make it impossible to abandon the tournament entirely.
“I don’t think anyone would want that [not to play the All Blacks every year],” Bryans stated.
“I think there is one thing you can do to be very straightforward: it is to move the Rugby Championship into the same window as the Six Nations. And that in itself solves a lot of problems for us as South Africans, URC franchises. That will be by far the biggest impactful thing that we can do, but it is difficult. I don’t think we can see that in the short term.”
Since taking over as Sharks CEO, Bryans has highlighted the SA Rugby calendar as the biggest hurdle. “I think there have been few challenges. I think, for us as a rugby franchise, the calendar is the biggest challenge that we have to manage,” he said.
“I think travel is a difficult thing to do; it is expensive, it is a difficult problem to have. So, we are having to move a lot of people up and down, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere. But mostly the calendar.”
Meanwhile, Sharks coach John Plumtree has faced criticism for the team’s semi-final loss to the Bulls, with some suggesting he underperformed given the Springbok-laden squad. Bryans staunchly disagreed with this sentiment.
“I disagree with that fundamentally because the coaching team has our full support,” Bryans affirmed. “It is a difficult job, I can promise you, particularly with the injuries that I just mentioned. I understand fans can be a bit frustrated.
“But for people to see the wood from the trees, it is a great improvement from last season. We did have some massive problems this season, and injuries. The injury load came back to the same problems around managing the Springboks’ workload and calendar changes.”
