VIDEO: Rassie's case for 'global calendar'

Confirmation last week of two new international events again raised the timeworn question of a ‘global calendar’.

SANZAAR, the Southern Hemisphere body, started the ball rolling with the release of a five-year calendar for the evolving requirements of its member unions (South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia).

The Rugby Championship will played in 2027, 2028 and 2029. Importantly, it will also deliver for the first time a full Rugby Championship in a World Cup year (2027).

A new addition, the SANZAAR calendar sees various international multi-week tours, such as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, played in the August-September window in non-Rugby Championship years (2026 & 2030).

The calendar also includes the proposed Nations Championship to be played in 2026, 2028 and 2030. The concept will see the 12 biggest nations in the world, meeting across two rounds of fixtures in July and November every two years to decide the dominant nation and the balance of power between the hemispheres.

Now add the 2027 World Cup for men and the 2029 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and you get an idea of just how crowded the calendar has become.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, making it clear it is a ‘personal opinion’ and not a slight on his employers, the South African Rugby Union, said a global calendar would be a fantastic development in the current landscape.

(WATCH as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus shares his view on a case to be made for a ‘global calendar’ in the game…..)

“We can play the Rugby Championship in February [and March] when the Six Nations are underway,” Erasmus said at the launch of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.

“It will be so much easier to know other teams,” Erasmus said, adding: “We could be all aligned.

“It won’t be like some countries are flat [exhausted] in June and July, then peaking in November when we [SANZAAR countries] are flat in November.”

It will also benefit the annual law adjustments that have proven tricky to get across the line.

“Law variations will be easier to implement across the board, because all the competitions will start at the same time,” the Bok coach said.

“In my honest opinion, I can’t see a reason why New Zealand, Argentina, Australia and South Africa play our competition at the same time as the Six Nations.”

Erasmus admitted that he might be missing something in the ‘big picture’, but he likes the idea of a global calendar.

@rugby365com