The Stormers could wear the glittering crown of world champions if plans for a club Rugby World Cup come to fruition.
Eight clubs from the United Rugby Championship, English Premiership, French Top 14, seven southern hemisphere teams and a Japanese team are set to battle for world domination.
The groundbreaking championship, comprising four pools of four teams each, would be held before British & Irish Lions tours and crown the best club side in the world.
One of the men driving the plan is Rugby Football Union CEO Bill Sweeney, who sits on the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) board and has been heavily involved in discussions.
“We actually welcome it. We think it’s a very good idea,” he said. “I’ve been heavily involved and have full transparency around how that’s developing.
“There is still a long way to go with it,” Sweeney said.
“It’s not a done deal yet, but in terms of direction, as a union, we certainly support it and I know the clubs are keen to get it done.
“It just will heighten excitement and awareness around the game. Fans are looking for new formats, new things to talk about.
“This summer there was a lot of narrative around the north-south rivalry. It almost felt like a Ryder Cup golf situation towards the end there, in terms of whether we would win that series as a northern hemisphere.
“There seems to be more conversation around that and [the proposed tournament] just adds to that in terms of who has the best clubs in the world, the best club set-up.
“Is it the north or the south?
“Seeing some of those club powerhouses compete against each other, I think the fans will look forward to that,” he said.
“The sense was that doing it every two years would be too much proliferation.
“Allow it to settle down, give it time and space to develop.
“At this stage having it every four years was the better option.
“There were discussions around 2024, 2025. Where does it sit?
“Having it in the middle of two World Cups is probably the best way to go.
“At this stage, once every four years is the optimal solution in the context of a global calendar,” he said.
“But everything is up for re-evaluation and we’re still having these conversations around the global calendar.”
Mark McCafferty, the former CEO of Premiership Rugby, said an agreement for a new club Rugby World Cup could be signed in October and launched in 2024 as part of a radical shake-up of the sport globally.
McCafferty stepped down as Premiership Rugby CEO after 14 years in 2019 and is now a director of EPCR, who run the Heineken Champions Cup.
“If it stays on track then by October or November we could have an agreement,” McCafferty said.
“There are certain points in a sport’s development where you have to seize the moment.
“It is not adding a new competition, it is enhancing existing competitions once every four years.
“We are giving players and fans the opportunity to see who is the best club in the world with the chance for, say Toulouse, to face the Crusaders, or the Brumbies taking on the Saracens.
“I think it is very appetising. That’s the response we have had,” he said.
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