Former Wales and British & Irish Lions wing Alex Cuthbert has slammed the inclusion of the South African teams in the Investec Champions Cup and Challenge Cup.
In 2021, SA Rugby aligned their domestic season with the northern hemisphere as the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers joined forces with the Irish, Italians, Scots and Welsh to create the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The South African teams weren’t included in the 2021/22 Champions Cup campaign but from 2022/23 they have been involved in the continental competitions.
Logistics
From a purely meritocratic standpoint, it makes sense to see them feature, but there have been logistical issues which have not yet been corrected.
It has been a challenge for the URC to schedule their competition fairly and the feeling is that the EPCR need to make changes if the current format of the Champions Cup is going to work.
No South African side has made the last-16 this season after the Sharks were embarrassed by Bordeaux-Begles and Cuthbert believes that their involvement is pointless.
“French rugby is on another level at the moment. SA teams in Europe = waste of time. ‘EUROPEAN’ cup for a reason,” the ex-Wales star wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
It is a view held by a number of people and particularly those in France, who have been the most vocal opposition to their inclusion.
Ahead of their Round Three Champions Cup clash with the Sharks, superstar scrum-half Antoine Dupont added his voice to the debate and joined the naysayers.
“We see it’s very hard to play all the games with all the travel with your first-choice team,” he told reporters. “Obviously, you ask questions about the logic of the competition.”
Last week, Dupont also predicted a dominant triumph for Bordeaux due to the travel factor involved for the Sharks.
“We find it hard to see things clearly in this competition and I don’t think we’re alone,” he said.
“When the South African teams come to Europe, it’s hard not to see Bordeaux-Begles win with five points. If you follow the statistics, it’s not likely.”
Player welfare
Toulouse and France team-mate Thomas Ramos agreed with Dupont, citing player welfare as an issue for those involved in the games.
“We’re not the first to do it but what does it bring?” Ramos said. “It’s the question I’m asking.
“People are thinking a lot about player welfare, but how are we looking after players with journeys like that?”
Toulouse boss Ugo Mola took a slightly different view to his charges, however, insisting that facing South African teams is an enjoyable challenge.
“Playing a game like this is an opportunity and from a sports point of view we’re lucky,” he said. “You can debate the relevance of some other things but from a sports point of view it’s good to face different teams.”
