Lucky Mdluli
If you thought Super Rugby, with 14 teams, was a lot of rugby, you’ve got, as they say, another thing coming.
The Pro Guinness Rainbow Cup is a contest between no fewer than 20 teams from South Africa, Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
While England are not participating (perhaps still smarting from the drubbing they took at the World Cup) they are due to accommodate the South African sides in a bio-bubble arrangement in Bristol for three weeks.
This very clever, if not visionary arrangement, means that teams will have short trips to venues no more than a few hours away in the different countries. Fans will remember those crippling plane journeys that teams undertook in Super Rugby, literally flying around the world, spending anything up to 25 hours in transit to play 80 minutes of rugby.
It is impossible to avoid the name of Rassie Erasmus in this context. Largely his conception, the Rainbow Cup is part of his bigger goal of beating the British and Irish Lions later this year.
The first three rounds of the Rainbow Cup rugby tournament are all local derbies – and what a good thing that is!
Even at this late date, it is not clear whether those well-conceived overseas matches will even take place. The fear of spreading the South African Covid-19 strain (and other reasons that somehow have a political undertone) might scuttle those plans.
But first things first. The weekend of 23 April sees ten matches being played during the course of the weekend.
Some people might say that’s way too much rugby, while the true enthusiast will make a note to stock up on extra beer, biltong, charcoal and boerewors.
Lucky’s early prediction: Nobody can out-strategise Jake White at the provincial level. The Bulls have to be the favourites to win the Rainbow Cup.
Picture source: @CurrieCup
