Stephen Nell
Cape Town – SANZAR on Thursday said no to a “Battle of the Hemispheres” in which the best club and regional teams in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere would do battle in December 2012.
“We like the concept, but because of the timing SANZAR cannot commit to such a competition,” said the chairman of the South African Rugby Union’s executive committee, Dr Jan Marais.
He was speaking after a SANZAR meeting in Sydney.
“We cannot commit our champion team (in the Super 15) to it, but said that Premier Rugby Ltd (who made the proposal) should contact individual unions to ascertain whether they will be interested to participate,” said Marais.
Should that happen, SARU can discuss the matter at a general meeting after it has been proposed to franchises and provincial teams.
However, of the SANZAR partners only Australia are likely to be keen on the idea, as South Africa and New Zealand both have provincial competitions followed by tours and need a window period in which their leading players can rest.
http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/No-No...ANZAR-20100408
