In 2026, a brand-new international rugby competition will begin, and that might not be good news for the Springboks.

Together with other international rugby stakeholders, SANZAAR and Six Nations Rugby have forged a new international rugby championship that will be played in the current July and November test windows starting in 2026.

A joint press release states that “World Rugby, Unions, important leagues, competitions, and crucially, the International Rugby Players, have all contributed to the creation of the new competition.”

Even while SA Rugby might wind up with more money in its coffers, the Springboks’ performance could suffer greatly on the field.

The four SANZAAR Rugby Championship nations (South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina) as well as the Six Nations Rugby teams (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales) will compete in the new top competition, which is scheduled to start in 2026.

The release also states that “two spaces have been reserved for invitational Unions to join the SANZAAR teams.”

“World Rugby and the International Rugby Players will work with SANZAAR to oversee an open selection process that will identify these two invitational Unions.

SANZAAR and Six Nations preserving existing rugby traditions

The premier competition, which is owned and run by SANZAAR and Six Nations, will be held every other year save from the Rugby World Cup and the British & Irish Lions Tours.

The International Players have been involved in the creation of the new tournament at every level. This relationship has been essential to ensuring that player welfare has remained a top concern in all decision-making and to supporting the broader discussions about the club and international schedule that are occurring concurrently.

WR will establish a second-tier tournament with teams from Europe and the rest of the world to bolster the growth pathway for emerging nations. SANZAAR and the Six Nations will play a key role in fostering ties between the two divisions.

The creation of the two leagues will facilitate promotion and relegation games, offering teams a useful route forward, and will assist efforts to maintain and expand the international game.

The launch of the new, elite international tournament is evidence of everyone’s great desire to provide players and new fans with excitement for the game by providing context and a stronger story around the July and November windows.

This will have the effect of propelling the game’s expansion and long-term viability. This is in addition to the ongoing efforts by SANZAAR and Six Nations Rugby to improve the coherence and harmony of the club and international calendars.

The tournament really has the air of being created to preserve rugby’s traditional powers. However of those established powers the Springboks could be hurt the most by this re-ordering.

The critics

Critics of the competition already exist.

Squidge Rugby, also known as well-known rugby expert Robbie Owen, explains why.

Georgia, which just defeated Wales and Italy, won’t be able to play a T1 team for at least four years as a result of this decision. It would ensure that a team emerging from nowhere like Chile never occurs once more, according to Owen.

This is rugby trying to profit off developing countries in order to pay the old dogs a little money.

Because of the current structure of World Rugby’s administration, the other 97 member unions would be powerless to block a motion to carpetbomb every rugby ground in every T2 country, supported by eight of the six nations that make up the TRC.

“The goal of the entire system is to safeguard interests, not to advance the game.”

It is clear that the sport has questions to answer. However, it seems likely that a drive for more TV money will win the day. Can the game afford to ignore its fans concerns though?