The Southern Hemisphere competition will not be played in 2026 as New Zealand embark on a tour of South Africa dubbed ‘Rugby's Greatest Rivalry’, a money-spinning new addition to the calendar for those two sides.
The Springboks will in term conduct a similar tour to New Zealand in 2030, at the cost of the Rugby Championship again unless there is a change in the schedule.
At the moment the competition runs from August to October, but Erasmus would like to see it moved earlier in the year.
“I hope this doesn’t go against SA Rugby’s wishes or the way they’re thinking,” he told reporters. “I don’t want this to be a headline, this is my opinion. But I think it would be fantastic if we could (start) the Rugby Championship in February, when the Six Nations is on.
“It would be so much easier if all the teams were aligned, not having some countries flat in (July) and others are peaking in November and we are flat.”
Erasmus added that apart from levelling the playing field in terms of unifying the season, there are other practical considerations too.
“The law changes or variations would be easier to implement across the board with all the competitions starting at the same time,” he said.
“In my honest opinion, I can’t see a reason why New Zealand, Argentina and Australia can’t play that competition at the same time as the Six Nations.
“There might be a big thing that I’m missing here. I’m just naming a few things; I’m not saying that’s the solution.”
The switch in timing would have an affect on Super Rugby Pacific but breaks in the season could be worked into the schedule, as is the case for the United Rugby Championship during the Six Nations, which features England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy.