Former Springbok Brendan Venter believes the long term solution to Super Rugby is for South Africa to leave the competition and head north.
In the face of reports that the Western Force, the Kings and the Cheetahs will all be dropped from Super Rugby when SANZAAR releases its much-anticipated report, Venter said it was time for South African rugby to throw its weight around to preserve its interests.
"SA Rugby possesses the resources and must make use of their clout going forward," Venter wrote in a column for AllOutRugby.
"I don't agree with the notion that we should be helping to build rugby in Argentina and Japan through a structure which we largely fund."
All three teams on the chopping block have performed poorly since their introduction into Super Rugby with just the one playoffs appearance between them.
The introduction of the Melbourne Rebels, Japan's Sunwolves and Argentina's Jaguares has even further diluted the competition.
And Venter, who played 17 Tests for the Springboks including the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final win over the All Blacks, said it shouldn't be South African Rugby's responsibility to grow rugby in these regions.
"I don't believe it's our problem to solve and from my point of view enough has already been done in order to develop rugby in those regions.
"With SA Rugby serving as the primary funder of SANZAAR, we can no longer afford to have a situation whereby the tail wags the dog and we subsidise other organisations."
Venter recognised the current broadcasting deal that has South Africa tied to SANZAAR. But following the expiration of the deal in 2020, implored them to look north for the future.
"While the short-term solution for South Africa is to remain part of Super Rugby because there is a broadcast deal in place until 2020, I would urge SA Rugby to explore the option of joining a northern hemisphere competition at some point."
"The Sunwolves should be in a competition with Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Australasian teams owing to sharing similar time zones. And the perfect bet would be for South African teams to head north."
The carrot of a move north for South African Rugby has lingered for some time, particularly with the potential economic benefits and aligned time zones.
But it hasn't yet been discussed as a realistic possibility due to South Africa being traditional Southern Hemisphere rugby heavyweights and the potential impact of the move on its quality of rugby.
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