The Six Nations organisers have denied it’s happening but the drums continue to beat that South Africa will quit the Rugby Championship in 2026 and take Italy’s place alongside the northern hemisphere elite.

There have been rumblings around for years, intensifying in recent weeks, about the Springboks’ desire to cut and run from southern hemisphere Tests, to play in Europe’s flagship event.

SANZAAR, who run the Rugby Championship, acknowledged this week that a deal for TRC was only in place until the end of 2025.

That prompted further speculation, which the Six Nations responded to with the following statement: “Six Nations Rugby, comprising the six unions and federations and CVC, wish to confirm that they are not entertaining any discussion nor developing any plans to add or replace any participating union.

“All its energy is focused on the current strategic discussions regarding the July and November international windows and structure of the global season, and to ensure a positive outcome for the development of the game.”

Six Nations statement on recent reports of a seismic shift from the south.

Easy to produce a statement. What else would they say otherwise. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. https://t.co/eAg7IsFioH

— Christy Doran (@ChristypDoran) February 18, 2022

The prospect of it happening has wound up some big rugby names, including England’s 2003 World Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodward, and former Lions ace Austin Healey.

“It would be hard to think of a more ill-conceived muddle-headed idea than South Africa being randomly parachuted into the Six Nations,” Woodward wrote in his Daily Mail column.

“It would leave Italy — and other aspiring European nations — banished to the wilderness. I shake my head yet again at rugby’s total inability to manage its affairs properly and promote growth and development.

“Rugby union is light years behind where it should be and a good deal of that can be placed at the Six Nations’ door.

“It is a great tournament for those lucky enough to be involved but it is invitation-only and has selfishly stifled European rugby for the best part of a century. It is why rugby is only a middling, niche sport worldwide compared to many others.”

Woodward said the Six Nations’ strength had been to identify that rugby “is disastrously run and is well below its potential.”

He argued the success of lower tier countries such as Georgia threatened the powerful Six Nations.

“When push comes to shove, they serve only themselves and are not interested in rugby’s development or democracy,” he wrote.

“Rugby in Europe is 50 years behind where it should be. Europe should boast nine or 10 top nations and places like Madrid, Barcelona, Tbilisi, Lisbon, San Sebastian, Porto and Bucharest should be well-established venues and hotbeds.

“That is where the long-term future of the Six Nations lies. A brilliant top division, fed by a flourishing, vibrant second division with promotion and relegation. All to be administered under one umbrella, one unified pyramid of excellence. What is the plausible objection to that?”

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Woodward said World Rugby was standing by “helplessly”.

“They are not in control as the Six Nations hold all the power. The Six Nations, with their three votes to every other nation’s one, control the sport to an unhealthy and undemocratic degree and the good governance report newly elected [World Rugby] chairman Bill Beaumont commissioned has done nothing to alter that.

“The Six Nations have effectively been holding European rugby to ransom for way too long and it is damaging the game. We should be making the sport bigger, not smaller, more inclusive, not exclusive. But none of that suits the elite who seek to maintain an iron grip on the game.”

Former England player Healey, writing in the UK Telegraph, appeared to welcome South Africa’s addition, but felt it there were too many unanswered questions.

“Does it become a Seven Nations or does one country, most likely Italy, get replaced? What happens to developing the game in Europe?” he wrote.

“South Africa for a long time have had the best players in the world and currently have the best team in the world in the Springboks. But domestically, they don’t have much going for them, most of their players are already in Europe and they are obviously getting bored of the travel involved to play Australia and the All Blacks. The Six Nations looks attractive.

“There are a few schools of thought. South Africa would add to the quality of the Six Nations, but it would take away the European factor from which has made it so special.

“Facing South Africa on multiple occasions every year would also detract from and potentially devalue the Rugby World Cup and arguably British and Irish Lions tours too. We already see the Springboks up here every autumn. Play one side enough times and the Tests begin to lose their edge.

“South Africa were brilliant in the autumn at Twickenham and really took the anticipation from the crowd to a new level. But aside from the Rugby World Cup, nothing really tops the Six Nations.

“Look at England hosting Wales next week – could you have a more partisan game? I don’t think so. You would not have the same intensity if Wales were facing South Africa. It would take decades to build up that same sort of history and rivalry, maybe 100 years. That is the trade-off.”

Healey also questioned Italy’s path if they were to be replaced.

“I feel they are improving but they have been in a rebuild since Conor O’Shea left, he did well with them. They are developing young players and getting better, but Georgia, Spain and Portugal are all improving too. They all need high-level, competitive Tests and to get more players into European clubs. The more that happens, the more your skill and talent base increases.

“Letting Italy drop out of the Six Nations to then go and batter Spain every week does nobody any favours, does not help development. We need promotion and relegation in the Six Nations and it would add a huge amount of jeopardy to the games, but that’s not going to happen if South Africa join the competition.

“This is all forgetting the player welfare element if it becomes Seven Nations and you have an extra game – the clubs would go mad at losing their players for another week, and rightly so. Taking out one of the fallow weeks creates the same issue.

“Bottom line, I would love to see South Africa in the Six Nations. But the reality is the geography, the history and everything else going on would work against it, with the development of the European game being the first and most important thing. I therefore can’t see it working.”

The Guardian, meanwhile, reported that the Springboks potential move could spark a bidding war to host the British & Irish Lions in 2033 with Argentina, Japan and the US among the possible candidates.

The Lions are due to travel to Australia in 2025 but there is no agreement in place as to where they will play after that.

The All Blacks are expected to host the Lions in 2029 but with South Africa exploring the option of joining the Six Nations after 2025, the 2033 tour destination is less certain.