Former Schalk Burger Snr has criticised SA Rugby following reports that the organisation is reconsidering its participation in European competitions, with the European Rugby Champions Cup reportedly under the most scrutiny.

Speaking during SA Rugby’s AGM on Thursday, president Mark Alexander said player welfare had become a growing concern due to the demands of an 11-month rugby season.

“We generate our income from participating in tournaments. Participation is important, but our players are overworked,” Alexander said.

He added that SA Rugby plans to hold a workshop in July to determine which competitions should be retained and which could potentially be dropped in an effort to better manage player workload and recovery time.

Although Alexander did not specifically mention the Champions Cup, sources later indicated that Europe’s premier club competition is among those being seriously reconsidered.

Burger questioned both the decision-making process and whether franchises had been properly consulted.

“The big thing is about SA Rugby. Are they making decisions on behalf of the franchises? Do the franchises know about this?” Burger told KickOff Rugby.

He also raised concerns about the commercial value of the United Rugby Championship, claiming the tournament had not delivered the expected financial returns.

Burger said SA Rugby should never have moved away from Southern Hemisphere competitions aligned to SANZAAR, arguing there was still major value in that structure.

“We should never have left SANZAAR,” he said. “I think it’s a massive problem with management at SA Rugby taking decisions that were not very well thought out. Now the chickens have come home to roost.”

SA Rugby supporters, what is your view on local teams competing in European rugby tournaments, and what do you think is driving the possible rethink?

This article was sourced from KickOff.