TUESDAY, 1.00PM:
THE disappointing quality of the Northern Hemisphere rugby teams that have recently toured South Africa, New Zealand and Australia (Sanzar), has the three countries looking at new options for increasing the number of genuinely exciting fixtures on the rugby calendar.
On July 15, the Sanzar countries will meet to discuss the problem and consider new opportunities for fixtures.
The problem with the recent tours has been not just the quality of the rugby, but the financial returns for the provincial unions hosting the various games. With South Africa having beaten Ireland 33-0 and Wales 96-13 in the last couple of weeks, the British teams have hardly been crowd-pullers.
Similar problems have cropped up in New Zealand and Australia.
The problem for the Southern Hemisphere organisers is that they cannot interfere in the politics of the northern game to ensure that better teams will come south. The tour roster is decided by the International Rugby Board, and must be accepted by the national unions. Another fear is that more Tests between southern teams will just leave the northerners even further behind.
Rian Oberholzer of the South African Rugby Football Union says Sanzar is now looking at new options to try to draw new blood into the international game. Pulling the Pacific Island countries — Fiji, Western Samoa and Tonga — and Argentina more into the international game seems the best option.
To ensure this happens, Sanzar will have to lobby to increase its influence over the future construction of international fixture lists.