Nations Championship to be voted on after World Rugby chiefs agree on new comp

[Neils]

Nations Championship to be voted on after World Rugby chiefs agree on new tournament

Two-tier tournament would start in 2026, pitting two groups of six from each hemisphere in the top tier, with a Grand Final every two years
By Daniel Schofield, Deputy Rugby Union Correspondent 29 June 2023 ? 9:07pm

The go-ahead for the Nations Championship was agreed in principle at a meeting of rugby?s key stakeholders in London on Thursday, Telegraph Sport understands.

A two-tier tournament would start in 2026, pitting two groups of six teams from each hemisphere in the top tier, with a Grand Final every two years. This will bring to an end the traditional touring model Northern Hemisphere teams adopt in the summer with England poised for a last hurrah to New Zealand, via Japan, in 2025, however the sport?s chiefs believe building a sense of narrative in the July and November windows will provide a greater commercial model.

?This will be a game-changer for the sport,? one source at the meeting said. ?The current calendar is far too disparate and has too many meaningless fixtures. This will give international rugby a sense of direction and purpose it lacks outside of the World Cup and Lions years.? The Six Nations will remain a standalone, ring-fenced competition while the Lions tours will also be a protected part of the new calendar.

The Grand Final will be staged on a fourth weekend in November which will involve a change to World Rugby regulation 9. While all the key stakeholders, including representatives from Premiership Rugby and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby as well as player associations, have granted their support for an extension to the international calendar, the terms of the trade-off remain open to discussion. Losing a rest week in the Six Nations is the most likely scenario, which could adversely affect nations with smaller player pools like Italy and Scotland.

Protections for player welfare are also set to be built into Regulation 9. The demand by the International Rugby Players for mandated rest periods and game limits received a sympathetic ear from both unions and leagues. ?The whole-sport group continue to be united in their commitment to optimising the global calendars to prioritise player welfare, and accelerate global growth in content, opportunity, relevance and value by better aligning the annual domestic and international environments, also boosting player and fan experience,? a World Rugby statement read.

?Planning includes the establishment of a two-division international competition, the men?s game operating across the July and November windows outside of Rugby World Cup and British and Irish Lions years. All stakeholders are motivated by the opportunity for more teams to advance on the world stage, ultimately leading to more competitive Rugby World Cups. This mission is underpinned by the principle of promotion and relegation between the divisions, which reflects the vision of a global game. There is also a review of Regulation 9 which will look to reflect the new calendar and address issues relating to the release of players for international matches.?

World Rugby?s Council will give the sign-off to the proposal in Paris in October, although concerns remain for several emerging nations who are likely to find themselves locked out of the top division. Promotion and relegation would not be introduced until 2030 meaning countries such as Georgia, who have beaten both Italy and Wales in recent years and whose Under-20 side defeated Argentina on Thursday, potentially finding themselves devoid of top-level opposition outside of World Cup years.


?We welcome these exciting plans for a new international league competition,? Loseb (Soso) Tkemaladze, president of the Georgian Rugby Union, said. ?We have faith that World Rugby will bring in developments that are beneficial for the game as a whole and further its development globally.

?From a Georgian perspective what we need is further, faster development. We are loyal team players and grateful to WR for the support we have been given. What?s clear now is that we need more games against Tier One opposition. That is what we expect and we trust the institution to deliver.?

[Neils]

BBC -

Rugby's leaders are aiming to make a decision on the sport's future global calendar by October after talks in London this week.

A two-tier men's tournament in July and November has been proposed for alternate years.

It is also understood the Six Nations Championship could lose one of its rest weekends to accommodate a longer November international window.

World Rugby said "player welfare" was high on the agenda.

Representatives from World Rugby, the British and Irish Lions, the Six Nations, and the Rugby Championship, along with stakeholders from International Rugby Players (IRP), the unions and professional leagues all attended.

Talks are expected to continue, and any decisions will have to be ratified by the World Rugby Council in October.

Despite World Rugby stating "promotion and relegation being a goal for the global calendar", it is not thought it will be included in the early years of the competition, which will take place during years without a World Cup or a British and Irish Lions tour.

The Six Nations will continue to be a standalone tournament without any promotion or relegation.

Concerns in the sport have grown over the amount of rugby some internationals are expected to play with ever-expanding domestic and international calendars.

The governing body's 'Regulation 9' is the current framework for the release of players by clubs for international fixtures.

There is currently meant to be a three-weekend international window in November, but increasingly some unions have added a fourth fixture to this period, leaving grey areas for unions and clubs regards player release.

This week IRP tweeted its views on the talks

, saying: "Any global season must have opportunities for Emerging Nations and must put player welfare first and foremost."

IRP has also called on World Rugby to standardise player rest periods and introduce a maximum match quota for all players worldwide.

Regulation 9 was confirmed as "under review" by World Rugby.

It added: "Central to the development of the men's calendar is optimising player release for players moving between the club and international environments, overall welfare optimisation including rest periods, and a greater level of clarity around fixtures for high-performance unions and emerging nations including with the Six Nations and SANZAAR [Rugby Championship] teams."