Rassie about the 'serious conversations' on a global calendar
It has been one of the most contentious and problematic subjects in the game, a global calendar.
After years of splitting hairs and divarication, World Rugby is finally getting the main role players around the same table to discuss the topic formally.
It was revealed that a meeting is set to take place in London in mid-February to iron out differences and find common ground regarding alignment on the global calendar.
It is a development that excites Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus.
He believes the real ‘winners’ will be the players.
“There’s real talk about it,” Erasmus said at Springbok headquarters in the Plattekloof suburb of Cape Town.
“It wasn’t me who thought: ‘This is a great plan’.
“Just, when you’re in meetings and you start looking at calendars and you think what can work and what can’t work.
“Some people voiced it out publicly, then some people took the route to get it done.
“It looks like everybody’s taking it seriously now.”
Erasmus believes the real beneficiaries of such a seismic shift would be the players.
The SANZAAR countries – South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina – have found their Northern Hemisphere counterparts less than accommodating in the past.
The Springboks, since South Africa’s move to Northern Hemisphere competitions, had to navigate overlapping club and international commitments.
* (LISTEN as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus gives his take on global calendar talks….)
“I think it will sort out a lot of problems for us,” Erasmus added.
“Player welfare, players resting and managing the number of games a player can play, and rules of competitions.
“Getting it synced will make all those kinds of things easier to implement and to adapt to.
“They are putting questionnaires out, high-performance committees, really looking at it seriously.
“I am not sure when it will start, but it will be awesome.”
@JanDKrugby
@rugby365com
Related
The proposed ‘law changes’ Rassie doesn’t want
Rassie’s master plan for 2026 and beyond
Rassie reveals where the Bok roster is ‘thin’
Rassie talks about Tony Brown ‘beyond 2027’
