{"id":7342,"date":"2025-05-26T15:32:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T13:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=7342"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:35:12","slug":"sa-rugby-urges-club-world-cup-franchises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/sa-rugby-urges-club-world-cup-franchises\/","title":{"rendered":"SA Rugby Head Urges Club World Cup to Spotlight SA Franchises"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>SA Rugby chief executive Rian Oberholzer has expressed hope that the newly confirmed Club World Cup will elevate the importance of the Champions Cup for local teams. He believes the global nature of the new tournament could push franchises from the country to treat European competition with the seriousness it deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oberholzer was reacting to the official announcement made this past Saturday, confirming a groundbreaking new tournament set to kick off in 2028. The Club World Cup will feature 16 of the top teams from both hemispheres. This tournament finally delivers on long-standing calls for a global showdown between northern and southern powerhouses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-franchises-to-face-off-on-a-global-stage\"><strong>Franchises to Face Off on a Global Stage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The competition will include eight clubs from the Champions Cup, seven from Super Rugby, and one representative from Japan. Scheduled to take place every four years, it will serve as a replacement for the Champions Cup\u2019s knockout rounds in Europe. This offers a fresh international spectacle that promises high-stakes drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oberholzer voiced his strong support for the initiative, stating that world rugby has been missing a tournament that truly brings together elite teams from the north and south. According to him, the Club World Cup fills that void by offering a platform that can unite rugby\u2019s top franchises under one global banner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-731113462\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-wake-up-call-for-local-rugby\"><strong>A Wake-Up Call for Local Rugby<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Highlighting the underwhelming performances of our franchises in the Champions Cup, Oberholzer said the Club World Cup could serve as a much-needed motivator. \u201cIt should encourage our sides to approach the Champions Cup with greater intensity,\u201d he said. Noting that only by excelling in that tournament will they earn a chance to compete on the world stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sabcsport.com\/rugby\/news\/sa-rugby-boss-hopes-club-world-cup-will-focus-sa-franchises\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SA Rugby boss<\/a> believes that this global competition will naturally incentivise franchises to improve their continental performances. It adds prestige and urgency to every Champions Cup fixture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-plenty-still-to-resolve\"><strong>Plenty Still to Resolve<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the excitement surrounding the announcement, Oberholzer admitted that several critical elements remain unresolved. From the financial model to scheduling logistics, much work lies ahead before the Club World Cup can fully take shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He acknowledged that no concrete broadcasting deals or sponsorships have been secured yet. \u201cFinancially, there are still only forecasts. If they hold true, the competition could bring in significant revenue\u2014but that remains to be seen,\u201d he told Rapport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oberholzer also stressed that the structures necessary to run the tournament successfully have yet to be established. With no formal agreements in place, stakeholders are still deep in discussions over how to implement the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-3718355387\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-cautious-optimism-despite-early-announcement\"><strong>Cautious Optimism Despite Early Announcement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the announcement has been met with excitement in the global rugby community, Oberholzer struck a note of caution, pointing out that the news might have come prematurely. \u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of detail missing, and we don\u2019t have all the answers yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, his overall stance remains optimistic. He views the Club World Cup as a step forward for the global game\u2014one that will not only bring commercial rewards. It will also raise the performance levels of local teams aiming to prove themselves among rugby\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/how-rayno-nel-became-worlds-strongest-man\/\">From Rugby to Record-Breaker: How South Africa\u2019s Rayno Nel Became the 2025 World\u2019s Strongest Man<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SA Rugby chief executive Rian Oberholzer has expressed hope that the newly confirmed Club World Cup will elevate the importance of the Champions Cup for local teams. He believes the global nature of the new tournament could push franchises from the country to treat European competition with the seriousness it deserves. Oberholzer was reacting to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"SA Rugby chief executive Rian Oberholzer has expressed hope that the newly confirmed Club World Cup will elevate the importance of the Champions Cup for local...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[1341,415,873],"class_list":{"0":"post-7342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-rugby-news","10":"tag-sa-rugby","11":"tag-springboks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7344,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342\/revisions\/7344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}