Significant changes to the Rugby Championship schedule will decrease the amount of intercontinental travel — as well as the ensuing travel fatigue — and make for more competitive fixtures over the course of the tournament.
Argentina were subjected to similar travel demands before hosting the All Blacks and Wallabies at the back end of the tournament. New Zealand and Australia, however, reaped the benefits of a routine that allowed them to play the first four matches of their respective campaigns in Australasia. A rigid and unequal schedule was in place for the better of a decade. From 2022 onwards, the Rugby Championship will embrace a new tournament format in an attempt to level the playing field.
In the next instalment of a six-round Rugby Championship — which is likely to be in 2024 as the 2023 championship will be truncated to accommodate preparations for the World Cup — the Boks will travel to New Zealand for two matches before hosting the Wallabies in a double-header. When Jacques Nienaber was appointed head coach in 2020, he spoke about taking the world champions forward and winning more big series and titles.
Could history repeat itself in 2022? Come the end of the tournament, will we have another scenario in which the SA Rugby trophy cabinet is home to the World Cup, a Lions series trophy, the Freedom Cup and a Rugby Championship/Tri-Nations title?