Eleventh-hour lobbying from Australia has seen the Rugby Championship saved from the chopping block, with plans to replace the tournament in 2028 with a series of inter-SANZAAR tours scrapped and replaced with a strategy of long-term continuity.

The news was contained in a SANZAAR release on Thursday, in which a five-year schedule confirmed the Rugby Championship will be played in full in 2027, 2028 and 2029.

The future of the Rugby Championship came under a cloud last month after this masthead revealed the tournament would not only go into hiatus in 2026 and 2030, to accommodate reciprocal tours between New Zealand and South Africa , but likely in 2028 as well.

Discussions between SANZAAR partners New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina had seen a proposal for the 2028 R

See Full Page