Expect little of the lackadaisical feel that characterised the slightly bizarre 2020/21 summer rugby season when South Africa's version of the Rainbow Cup clicks into gear on Saturday, with respective Cape Town and Pretoria derbies. This is well into autumn, for one thing, which generally makes for much kinder rugby conditions than the type - sometimes accompanied by disruptive thunderstorms and crippling heat - experienced in Super Rugby Unlocked and the Currie Cup, neither of which really warranted presence as collectives in any video hall of fame. In past seasons, franchise teams throughout the southern hemisphere would, by now, have been building a nice head of steam in Super Rugby of old: we would be possibly nine or 10 rounds into the competition, and players with international ambitions would be cranking up their performances to ensure selection in the old "June Test window".

Source: News 24 May 01, 2021 03:11 UTC