JOHANNESBURG – Bulls coach Jake White has given the slightest of insights into the schedule for the United Rugby Championship (URC), set to start next month.
Speaking to the media during his team announcement, White revealed that discussions regarding the fixture list are ongoing and that a meeting concerning the tournament will be held on Friday. The Bulls are scheduled to play the Lions on Saturday at Emirates Airline Park, and while discussing a tough schedule that sees his team play four Currie Cup matches in 12 days, the coach revealed a smidgen of information regarding the URC.
White, in no way, confirmed his musings as fact.
“It literally goes (Saturday against the Lions), Wednesday into the Pumas, then a weekend off, then straight into the Cheetahs, then the semi-finals (and then the final), all things being equal,” said White.
“And then I think it is a week off and then we go overseas and the way it looks now it might be four away games overseas and then eight home games … There are 12 consecutive weeks where we play (in the URC)."
The URC is scheduled to start on September 25 but doubts remain as to whether it will kick-off on that date, when the fixtures will be announced, and if teams will be forced to play locally first before moving into the greater tournament. The main concern is that South Africa remains on the United Kingdom’s red list due to Covid-19 restrictions, which means that anyone traveling from the country must quarantine for 10 days on arrival in that nation.
There have been suggestions by local media that in such an eventuality, the SA sides will have to play in Europe on neutral grounds.
The South African franchises – the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers – are set to play the clubs of Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the new look competition. Last season the tournament was divided into two regions, the Rainbow Cup North and Rainbow Cup South, won respectively by Benetton of Italy and the Bulls.
The two sides then competed in a North v South final in Italy, won by the Italian club. At the moment, due to the travel control on SA, it is a possibility that this format, or something mirroring it, might be a reality once again.
IOL Sport