The staging of the new Franchise Cup is currently posing a few challenges for the top local teams in the country.

A period of non-activity followed immediately after the final of the Currie Cup    on January 30 between the Bulls and the Sharks – and now nobody knows when the next competition will take place, at one stage rumoured to be getting underway at the end of this month.

SA Rugby have confirmed the teams that will participate in the competition will be the seven teams who contested the Currie Cup, along with the EP Elephants joining them.

SA Rugby however can’t confirm any fixtures for the Franchise Cup until such time that clarity is reached on the Rainbow Cup – the competition involving the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers and the 12 ProRugby teams – set to kick off on April 17.

The Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers’ participation in the Rainbow Cup, however, will only happen if the coronavirus can be controlled and travel between South Africa and Europe is permitted.

With less than three weeks to go until the Franchise Cup is supposed to kick off, there is still plenty of uncertainty around the competition, with many players still enjoying down time following the completion of the Currie Cup two weeks ago.

The players from the four semifinals teams – Western Province, the Lions, Sharks and Bulls – are on “holiday” but the other teams like the Cheetahs, Griquas and Pumas have resumed training following a break after falling out of the Currie Cup on January 9 and 10.

The EP Elephants, under their new coach Peter de Villiers, have also been in full training.

Right now it looks like the Franchise Cup will be played over a single round only to allow the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers a chance to take up their slots in the Rainbow Cup.