If the guys at the South African Rugby Union (Saru) have their way, SA’s own version of Super Rugby will kick off in August.
According to CEO Jurie Roux, it’s a win as they initially expected a return to action in September after the coronavirus pandemic halted play in March.
As it stands, the country’s manne are strapped up and ready to take the field for training.
But they are waiting for government to approve a 500-page document on Saru’s protocols for return to training, as well as a return to action.
Roux believes they will crack the nod from the country’s administrators this week and this might see players back in training next Monday.
At first it will be no-contact, but he is convinced that they’ll be able to convince government of full contact not too long afterwards.
He says of the next steps: “We’ve set ourselves between four to six weeks to get people ready before we can actually get back onto the pitch. And hopefully within the next month and a half we can get through that process to be able to get to a return-to-play date in August.
COMING SOON: All-SA action
“It will be a big win for us - a month earlier than what we have planned for.
“Realistically, it’s becoming a bigger chance than it previously was. By all indications the spike [in Covid-19 cases] is moving earlier than what was anticipated and the sooner that happens (as bad as that might sound), the better for all of us from a collective point of view so we can get past this pandemic.
“The planning is to have a home-based, truncated domestic version of Super Rugby and then go into a Currie Cup competition, as well as a U21 competition”
Roux is also hopeful that they will be allowed to return to action on level two lockdown,
without fans in the stands of course.