This was in the Times today :
Clubs dig heels in as legal action looms over new calendar
World Rugby and the European leagues lurched a step closer to a legal battle yesterday after they failed to reach an agreement over plans for the postponed Six Nations and July internationals to be staged in October.
The English and French clubs, furious at World Rugby for excluding them from the working group that is designing the new global calendar, are understood to have made their feelings known in a meeting yesterday.
World Rugby wants to create a bumper autumn international window by staging matches postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic in October followed by the scheduled November Tests. Its plan is to then install a permanent two-month autumn international window into the global calendar.
For England, that would mean a seven-Test autumn this year: their postponed Six Nations game against Italy and two Tests in Japan before hosting New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga and Australia at Twickenham. All of this would be dependent on government permission.
However, October is designated for club rugby and the European leagues have told World Rugby they will “not take a backward step” in defending their legal position. The clubs have said they will refuse to release players for Test matches because the delayed Premiership season and the Heineken Champions Cup are both scheduled to reach their climax in October.
The clubs’ opposition to World Rugby’s plan was reinforced yesterday in a frank exchange of views. The matter will be debated for another fortnight and then be voted on by the World Rugby council on June 30.
If World Rugby approves an amendment to the international release windows to cover October, they face a potential legal challenge from Premiership Rugby and the French clubs.
A World Rugby statement said: “In the absence of full alignment, further information sharing and discussion will be undertaken with all parties regarding the viability of proposed adjustments to the 2020 international release weekends that will enable postponed and other international matches to be played in an adjusted window from October, while enabling the completion of existing club competitions.
“The final decision on 2020 will be confirmed by vote of the World Rugby Council on June 30 following consideration and recommendation by the World Rugby executive committee.”
The French clubs also expressed their opposition to World Rugby’s plan to scrap the July Test window permanently and stage an international series in October and November in three out of every four years.
Premiership Rugby said it was going into the meeting with an open mind but was expected to back their French colleagues. Bill Sweeney, the RFU chief executive, is on the World Rugby working group designing the new global calendar.
The forum agreed to “further commercial and player welfare modelling in full collaboration with the club game to better assess the viability and attractiveness of a global release period of October/November from 2021, replacing the July window”.
World Rugby said: “All stakeholders believe that meaningful reform of the international calendar is necessary in a much-changed post-Covid-19 environment to revitalise the global game and deliver much-needed alignment between international and club rugby with fewer overlaps and enhanced player rest periods.”