World Rugby’s London workshop matters more than any match this month, writes MARK KEOHANE.
Writing for the Sunday Times, Keohane says five years after powerbrokers spoke of revolution, “nothing fundamental has changed”, with elite players still trapped between overlapping club and international seasons and denied a true off-season.
The divide between north and south remains. The northern club season runs deep into the southern summer. The Rugby Championship runs into the northern off-season. South Africa’s best players are asked to bridge both.
KEO: End southern rugby slavery
Wilco Louw is the most visible example. Since October 2024, he has played 45 matches in 16 months, moving from Vodacom Bulls duty to the Springboks and back again. For some, that is commitment. For Keohane, it borders on exploitation.
“Players are still playing too much without an off-season,” he writes, arguing that welfare must begin with protected time off, not softer training sessions or recovery spin.
SA Rugby: There must be a global calendar
Proposals reportedly include aligning the Six Nations and Rugby Championship into a unified international window and restructuring Test blocks to eliminate grey areas.
SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has called for unions to arrive with “a blank sheet of paper and no entrenched demands or fixed positions.”
The stakes are simple. Without a unified season and medically protected rest periods, the sport continues to consume its biggest assets.
This time, the meeting cannot end with a press release and a round of drinks.
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
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