This Planet Rugby column stitches together three related threads about the state of the game. The centrepiece is South Africa's Champions Cup participation, framed as a slow-motion financial and logistical crisis. The piece picks apart the recent public exchange between Mark Alexander and Sharks owner Marco Masotti — specifically Masotti's admission that the franchises are already absorbing losses for the privilege of fielding rotated squads in away knockout rounds after punishing travel schedules. The column's conclusion is blunt: the current construct isn't working for anyone, and a properly revived Currie Cup might be a more honest solution than papering over the cracks with cobbled-together cross-hemisphere formats. The Springbok welfare angle gets airtime too — Alexander's original comments about an 11-month playing year, however quickly walked back, pointed at a real problem that hasn't gone away.
The England selection of Janse van Rensburg draws on Danny Care's criticism to make a broader point about residency qualification in large playing pools — the argument being that inherited eligibility dilutes meaning, both for the shirt and for players like Lawrence and Ojomoh who've earned their shot through the system. Finally, the column flags a growing problem in the Prem: defensive collapse and score inflation are producing spectacle without jeopardy. When 50-point tallies stop being shocking, the emotional currency of tries gets devalued — and with no relegation stakes to sharpen the bottom half, the league is drifting toward watchable but hollow entertainment.