URC boss expresses push for global calendar
SPOTLIGHT: United Rugby Championship CEO Martin Anayi hailed the state of the tournament and the intention to push for a global rugby calendar in 2026.
Since the expansion of the Pro 14 rebranded to the URC in 2021, with South Africa’s “big four” joining from Super Rugby, the tournament has grown in leaps and bounds in quality and attendance figures.
This past weekend’s Round Eight derby weekends drew 98,743 fans in attendance, with the Bulls v Stormers and Lions v Sharks Round Eight matches rescheduled until February and March, respectively. They will, however, meet in Round Nine this coming weekend.
One spanner in the works in the game has been the varied timeslots of club and international tournaments taking place.
Super Rugby, for instance, starts in February and ends in June, whereas the URC starts in September 2025 and concludes in June 2026, with the EPCR tournaments taking place in between and the Top 14 runs in a similar timeslot.
At Test level, however, it’s a different beast, with the Six Nations taking place between February and March.
Whilst there won’t be a Rugby Championship next year with the All Blacks touring South Africa, the Southern Hemisphere tournament ran between August and October this past season.
A push for a global calendar is necessary to ensure all players play and rest at the same or at least a similar time, ensuring a better overall product, which Anayi made clear on his LinkedIn page.
“Derby Rounds in the United Rugby Championship over Xmas holidays just work! Our clubs welcomed 98,743 fans and we have two fixtures left to play (SA derbies),” he said.
“[It’s] just so good to see full houses/big stadium rugby in club colours – it’s OUR space in the calender, part of fans’ holiday plans and the rugby on the pitch lived up to the billing!
“Shows point of difference for the club game – bringing families together with a clarity of narrative we can build on, we now need a properly global calender – that’s top of the action list of 2026!
“But for now we can look forward to the New Year’s Day games and bumper extended weekend, love it!”
It won’t be without teething problems, but the sooner a global calendar is implemented, the better players’ workloads will be managed, and fans can look forward to the best playing the best regularly, with the Nations Championship launching next season as a step in the right direction.
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