Jurie Roux, chief executive of the South African Rugby Union, has suggested that adding the Cheetahs and Kings to the Pro14 may lead to the South African national team selecting a radically changed side for future European tours.

Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, Roux revealed that because of South Africa’s past struggles to adapt quickly to conditions during their autumn tours of Europe, the Springboks may end up picking a different XV heavily involving players from the two Pro14 sides for those fixtures in the north, compared with the team that takes part in the June Tests at home and the Rugby Championship.

"I can categorically state that we view Pro14 and Super Rugby, in terms of qualification criteria to play for the Springboks, in exactly the same light," Roux said.

"From a rugby point of view, we now have the opportunity to adapt to conditions in the north quicker. The first game of the autumn is really a tough Test match because of not being used to those conditions and the environment.

"Now in terms of preparing our players for the conditions of the north, you might end up seeing two different Springbok sides being selected; one for inbounds (the June Test series) and the Rugby Championship, and one for outbounds (European tours) in conditions that are completely different, and choosing players paced for that."