Kolbe gave his WC medal to a young fan

Cheslin Kolbe, a star for the Springboks, showed class in a touching interaction with a young fan. The South African winger showcased the Webb Ellis Cup at an event on Wednesday, accompanying the rest of the team to the MultiChoice headquarters in Johannesburg.

A young rugby enthusiast who had gone viral during the competition for covering James Brown’s “I Feel Good” at a talent show while sporting a South Africa jersey was one of the spectators. During the Springboks showcase, the young boy was handed a microphone and used it to express how much he loved Kolbe.

“You are my favorite because you inspire me, Cheslin Kolbe. I want to be a pocket rocket just like you because of this,” he remarked. The young fan was hugged by Kolbe, who was still sporting the strapping from Saturday’s final, as he stood up from his seat and gave him his Rugby World Cup winners medal.

Since it was captured on camera, the endearing incident has been going viral on social media.

Latest update on the proposed English rugby premiership merger with the United Rugby Championship

A Premiership merge with the URC has become a possibility after the RFU reached out to the URC board.

Rugby media in the UK has mentioned “talks of British and Irish Super League”. It was recently reported by The Telegraph that the league “could” include South African and Italian teams.

A POSSIBLE PREMIERSHIP MERGE – A BIG CHANGE IN DIRECTION

This is an intriguing move, particularly in light of the RFU’s long history of undervaluing the URC and its rejection of earlier merger proposals from the original URC (PRO12) teams in desperate need of assistance. The Premiership is in serious trouble, there is no doubt about that. All we have to do is look at how many of their teams have been demoted to the Championship and placed into administration.

Let’s be honest about it. The RFU is not making a generous offer to the teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, South Africa, or Italy; rather, they are using this strategy to safeguard their Premiership teams.

THE URC IS GROWING AND BECOMING VERY RELEVANT

The URC’s new format is currently in its third season. Attendance at concerts and on television has increased. National conferences play two local derbies and cross-conference games against every other team; the format is effective.

What is the intended number of RFU teams that will participate in the British and Irish Super League? Ten teams in total or the four qualifiers? This is no longer a merger if it is ten. It’s an acquisition. Does the RFU have the resources to demand that?

A very likely outcome would be a complete merger of the Premiership with the existing URC. That is the implication of a merger. The worry here is that in order to accommodate all of these teams, the current format will need to be modified. Here, they run the risk of following Super 18 rugby’s dead end.

THE SUPER 18 MESS

Fans didn’t understand or enjoy the format. Not all teams could play each other at least once due to scheduling conflicts. Teams that weren’t worthy of a playoff berth were given a lifeline in the form of an additional game. Since they were playing away from home against teams that were ranked higher overall in the competition, the majority of them lost. It was nonsensical.

WHAT OF THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP AND CHALLENGE CUP?

Qualification for the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup are also relevant here. The top 8 teams, regardless of their national conference, will advance to the Champions Cup according to the new URC resolution. The Challenge Cup is played by the top four teams.

With four teams participating each, South Africa and Ireland currently have the numerical advantage. Scotland and Italy have two each, and Wales has three. Ten teams from England would compete for those eight spots in the event of a full merge. The Premiership teams taking advantage of their ten European spots in the new competition is the only sensible option. Currently, their top eight teams are eligible for the Champions Cup, while their next two are eligible for the Challenge Cup. If so, they ought to be unprotected areas in accordance with the URC’s existing guidelines.

The actual risk of product dilution is another problem with the proposed Premiership merger with the URC. All you need to do to have the Champions and Challenge Cup competitions is add French teams.

WILL IT COME DOWN TO MONEY?

Given all of the aforementioned worries, a boardroom blitz is probably in store. The equity firm CVC owns a portion of both the Premiership and the URC.

Will the right rugby decision be made, regardless of the outcome?