South African Currie Cup - African International Teams included

The Currie Cup will (according to reports) be expanded to 18 teams next year with the confirmed participation of Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya alongside the 14 provincial teams of South Africa. But there will be an additional side and the thoughts are:

1) Limpopo Blue Bulls, representing a sub-union of Northern Transvaal
2) Argentina's Pampas, who participated in the Vodacom Cup between 2010 - 2013, and won the tournament in 2011 playing out of Potchefstroom.
3) Uruguay, though it would have made more sense to involve them this year rather than next.
4) Uganda National Side
5) Madagascar National Side
6) An African Leopards XV team. Have it made up from the best of the rest of Africa and base it out of South Africa.

Bilts, FA

Whats your thoughts. It can only be good more National sides getting high standard of rugby....

The question is whether it will be financially viable.

Namibia and Zimbabwe have been participating in various competitions (Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup) on and of during the years, but have found it hard to sustain their participation financially.

I think SARU is aiming to increase the number of teams because our two tier Currie Cup have produced only 6 teams in the Premier Currie Cup and 8 in the First division, the last few years they have increased the Premier to 8 but that left 6 in the first, this way with the current promotion relegation system in place you will be able to have more participating teams in both comps.

Which would you pick from the list?

I was even reading that teams from South America could be considered. A CONSUR side or Brazil etc. Surely that just isn't logical or viable.

Someone like Uganda at least is on the same continent, or Madagascar.

Kenya took part in the Vodacom Cup last year, had an early win but then got plastered for the rest of the season.

The inclusion of South American teams are interesting, I wonder if we should read more into it?

Perhaps SARU is looking to pull out of Super Rugby and teaming up with South America in the near future?

Is that a possibility?

South America has Argentina.

Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay etc would be a waste of time playing? Certainly as opposed to NZ and Australia?

I don't know, it just seems a very sudden move, develop it I guess?

From what I read, they are scrapping the Vodacom Cup in favour of a 14 team Currie Cup. If this is indeed the case, it creates a slight hole in the progression from Junior rugby to Currie Cup rugby, to eventually, Super rugby. I think that this is trying to create a "second division" of sorts to manage that jump.

I'd suggested something similar for the Pro12 (with European teams), when it was under threat of Wales pulling out. Having full International teams from smaller countries playing in a professional league is bound to make them a lot better and bring rugby forward in their countries as it will offer a career path that they currently don't have.

It should also be good from a money point of view because the games could potentially be sold to a much wider audience. Brazil may not be great yet but they have pots of money and rugby is growing in popularity there.

I'm not sure the extent to which a top down approach works wit regard to developing rugby in a nation. Of course it'll provide a path and maybe even heroes for young people but the truth is that in these countries the level of poverty is such that the potential for top level sport is severely damaged, it seems to me the money the SARU must be investing in subsidies would be better off invested in the grass roots element both in these developing nations and in South Africa itself. Having said that I am by no means an expert and the fact remains that South Africa, who we regularly denounce as corrupt and backward, are doing far more for rugby in nations miles off even Tier 2 sides than we in Europe do for Romania and Georgia, and Australia and New Zealand do for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

Dam good idea. I have long thought something similar in Europe would work - either in the European cup or pro 12.

Personally I think it won't work.

Costs are too high. The rugby population is heavily based in specific areas of Southern Africa so with only 1 major side in Cape Town for instance it blocks potential for genuine financially viable team development. Cape Town could easily have 2 sides.

Whereas getting a new team in a 100,000 populated town 300km from anywhere else with people who are not traditional rugby fans is going to mean draining money from other areas. In 20 years time with lots of effort those stadia will still only have max 5-10k people attending per match. Its unrealistic.

IMO, if people want expansion - money should be used to create a new rugby team in Cape Town, heavily invest in Jozi with potential to expand 2 teams too although they would need to get back to the crazy days of the Kitch/Pienaar days.

Biltong wrote:Kenya took part in the Vodacom Cup last year, had an early win but then got plastered for the rest of the season.

The inclusion of South American teams are interesting, I wonder if we should read more into it?

Perhaps SARU is looking to pull out of Super Rugby and teaming up with South America in the near future?

I think an expansion of super rugby and the rugby championship more likely. The logical extension is a South American/South African hub. We need at least 1-2 Argentinian teams and an extension into Uruguay, Chile or Brasil. South Africa in the longer term needs to develop a viable southern african competition. I suspect there's probably world rugby funding as well.