South African journalist Craig Ray has predicted when the South Africa will join Six Nations.
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The Six Nations bosses have previously denied there is any prospect of South Africa being added or Italy being kicked out.
However, four South African teams recently quit the southern hemisphere’s Super Rugby competition to join the United Rugby Championship, competing against sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
The South African sides have since joined Europe’s premier competitions, which surely paves the way for them joining the annual international competition.
“It’s totally part of the plan,” to join the Six Nations revealed Ray to Off The Ball.
“The plan is to be in by I think 2025. Possibly as early as 2024 after the World Cup.
“And it’s certainly part of the discussions that are going on. Getting into the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup was the next step.
“The only logical step from there is into the Six Nations.”
Kolbe endorses Six Nations move:
“I think if it does happen, it would be massive and change the whole scenario regarding the Six Nations,” he said.
“For the Springboks, it would be amazing to be part of the Six Nations. You get to play against top countries each and week when you’re part of that competition. It would be amazing if it comes off one day, but who knows.”
Foreign-born players in the 2023 Six Nations breakdown by country
Americas Rugby News have compiled their annual breakdown of foreign-born players taking part in the 2023 Six Nations.
We recommend that you head over there to see their detailed analysis of the squads along with a year-on-year comparison with the last couple of years.
#6. FRANCE - 4 players
| PLAYER | BORN | TRAINED | POS | ELIGIBILITY | OTHER REP. |
| Dany Priso | Cameroon | France | LH | Residency (2008) | – |
| Uini Atonio | New Zealand | New Zealand | TH | Residency (2014) | Samoa u20 |
| Paul Willemse | South Africa | Namibia | LO | Residency (2018) | Namibia u18, South Africa u20 |
| Émilien Gailleton | England | France | CE | Parent | – |
#5. ENGLAND - 5 players
| PLAYER | BORN | TRAINED | POS | ELIGIBILITY | OTHER REP. |
| Bevan Rodd | Scotland | England | LH | Parent | – |
| Mako Vunipola | New Zealand | England | LH | Residency (2008) | – |
| David Ribbans | South Africa | South Africa | LO | Grandparent | – |
| Marcus Smith | Philippines | England | FH | Parent | – |
| Manu Tuilagi | Samoa | England | CE | Residency (2007) | – |
Marcus Smith of England warms up before the Autumn International Series match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham, London on 19 November 2022 (Photo: Micah Crook/PPAUK)
#4. ITALY - 6 players
| PLAYER | BORN | TRAINED | POS | ELIGIBILITY | OTHER REP. |
| Marco Manfredi | Germany | Italy | HK | Parent | – |
| Sebastian Negri | Zimbabwe | South Africa | FL | Parent | – |
| Jake Polledri | England | England | FL | Grandparent | – |
| Stephen Varney | Wales | Wales | SH | Parent | – |
| Juan Ignacio Brex | Argentina | Argentina | CE | Grandparent | Argentina u19, u20, 7s, XV |
| Ange Capuozzo | France | France | FB | Parent | – |
#3. WALES - 7 players
| PLAYER | BORN | TRAINED | POS | ELIGIBILITY | OTHER REP. |
| Bradley Roberts | South Africa | South Africa | HK | Grandparent | – |
| Tomas Francis | England | England | TH | Grandparent | – |
| Taulupe Faletau | Tonga | Wales | N8 | Residency (2001) | – |
| Christ Tshiunza | DR Congo | Wales | LO | Residency (2015) | – |
| George North | England | Wales | CE | Parent | – |
| Nick Tompkins | England | England | CE | Grandparent | England u18, u20, Saxons |
| Alex Cuthbert | England | England | WI | Parent | – |
#2. IRELAND - 8 players
| PLAYER | BORN | TRAINED | POS | ELIGIBILITY | OTHER REP. |
| Rob Herring | South Africa | South Africa | HK | Grandparent | – |
| Finlay Bealham | Australia | Australia | TH | Grandparent | Australia Schools |
| Roman Salanoa | USA | USA | TH | Residency (2022) | USA u20, Hawaii All-State |
| Joe McCarthy | USA | Ireland | LO | Parent | – |
| Jamison Gibson-Park | New Zealand | New Zealand | SH | Residency (2020) | New Zealand Māori |
| Bundee Aki | New Zealand | New Zealand | CE | Residency (2017) | – |
| Mack Hansen | Australia | Australia | WI | Parent | Australia u20 |
| James Lowe | New Zealand | New Zealand | WI | Residency (2020) | New Zealand Māori, Schools, u15 Basketball |
#1. SCOTLAND - 21 players
| PLAYER | BORN | TRAINED | POS | ELIGIBILITY | OTHER REP. |
| Pierre Schoeman | South Africa | South Africa | LH | Residency (2021) | South Africa u18, u20 |
| Ewan Ashman | Canada | England | HK | Parent | – |
| Simon Berghan | New Zealand | New Zealand | TH | Grandparent | – |
| Willem Nel | South Africa | South Afica | TH | Residency (2015) | – |
| Javan Sebastian | Wales | Wales | TH | Parent | Wales u16, u18 |
| Cameron Henderson | Hong Kong | Scotland | LO | Parent | – |
| Sam Skinner | England | England | LO | Parent | England u20 |
| Josh Bayliss | England | England | FL | Grandparent | England u20 |
| Andy Christie | England | England | FL | Grandparent | England u18, u20 |
| Hamish Watson | England | England | FL | Grandparent | – |
| Jack Dempsey | Australia | Australia | N8 | Grandparent | Australia Schools, u20, Australia |
| Ali Price | England | England | SH | Parent | – |
| Ben White | England | England | SH | Grandparent | England u20, XV |
| Ben Healy | Ireland | Ireland | FH | Parent | Ireland u20 |
| Chris Harris | England | England | CE | Grandparent | England Counties |
| Cameron Redpath | France | England | CE | Parent | England u18, u20 |
| Sione Tuipulotu | Australia | Australia | CE | Parent | Australia Schools, u20 |
| Kyle Steyn | South Africa | South Africa | WI | Parent | – |
| Sean Maitland | New Zealand | New Zealand | WI | Grandparent | New Zealand u19, u20, Māori |
| Ruaridh McConnochie | England | England | WI | Parent | England 7’s, England |
| Duhan van der Merwe | South Africa | South Africa | WI | Residency (2020) | South Africa Schools, u20 |
Final whistle celebrations for Scott Steele of Scotland and Hamish Watson of Scotland during the Six Nations Championship, 127th Calcutta Cup match between England and Scotland at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on January 6 2021. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
