The PRO14 Set To Dramatically Alter The Springboks
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Divide and conquer.
The South African Rugby Union chief executive Jurie Roux has revealed the entry of the Cheetahs and Southern Kings into the Guinness PRO14 could lead to the formation of TWO Springbok teams.
He reckons one team could be picked for Tests in Europe using players picked from the Kings and Cheetahs and the other for internationals based over here, while southern hemisphere Rugby Championship matches would use players from Super Rugby outfits Lions, Stormers, Sharks and Bulls.
“From a rugby point of view, we now have the opportunity to adapt to conditions in the north quicker,” Roux told the Sunday Telegraph.
“The first game of the autumn is really a tough Test match because of not being used to those conditions and the environment.
“Now in terms of preparing our players for the conditions of the north, you might end up seeing two different Springbok sides being selected; one for inbounds (June Test series) and the Rugby Championship, and one for outbounds (European tours) in conditions that are completely different, and choosing players paced for that.”