• Help Support The Rugby Forum :

6 nations to 12 nations

moneymark

Academy Player
Joined
Nov 21, 2013
Messages
14
Country Flag
Guam
Club or Nation
Korea
I was thinking that to expand the popularity of international European Rugby, it would be a good idea to expand the 6 nations, so that you had two leagues of 6 nations, with propmotion between the two divisions.

You could invite Romania, Spain, Georgia etc into the second group and this will help grow the game, improving standards and interest.

What do forum members think?
 
there is lower tier 6nations already being played just without promotion and relegation

if georgia keep improving
if russia get back to moving forward and if romania keep improving

if the smaller the extent that they can regularly challenge and and even beat 6nations teams fair enough

but until that point it would be a pointless exercise removing one of the big 6 at the moment to a guaranteed promotion the next year and several 50+ point wins would be useless
 
Eventually the goal must be to increase the size of the 6 Nations. It should start with Georgia gaining admission to the competition before the end of this decade. Anyone else getting a shot to play in it is premature.
 
i know italy had beat ireland a couple of times in the 90's

has georgia ever wan a game against 6 nations opposition?
 
I'm not sure if they have. I'd like to see a situation where they're told they're in the new 7 Nations from 2020. In the interim, the IRB ensure Georgia get a lot of test matches against tier 1 opposition to prepare them for inclusion
 
I don't think I'd like to see a team like Scotland relegated. 6N thrives on its years-long rivalries and I'd hate for that to change.
 
I don't think I'd like to see a team like Scotland relegated. 6N thrives on its years-long rivalries and I'd hate for that to change.
The history of the tournament is a great thing but we must be careful that preserving the competition's history doesn't hinder it's progress.

I'd favour expansion to 7 teams ahead of promotion and relegation at the moment. When we get to a stage where there are 10 strong European nations, then promotion/relegation becomes a live issue.
 
no, for sure Georgia today or the last few years hasn't been at the level of Italy when it first joined the 5N to make it the 6N. They certainly had Tier 2 scores against some sides, but England putting 80 on them was due to England playing the best Rugby of its history by a mile, and they actually won a game in their very first tournament.
 
The history of the tournament is a great thing but we must be careful that preserving the competition's history doesn't hinder it's progress.

I'd favour expansion to 7 teams ahead of promotion and relegation at the moment. When we get to a stage where there are 10 strong European nations, then promotion/relegation becomes a live issue.


I think it would make it more interesting, travelling away could be interesting and you'd avoid as many dead rubbers, surely it encorage growth in the game in these regions.
 
Not at the expense of enlarging the 6N and thereby introducing more international matches on the top of 6N, Autumn Internationals, Tours and British Lions...............if there were a legitmate secondary 6 N for other european nations by all means!

Indeed, on second thoughts, why not make it the 4N with two dropping down to the second tier and that becoming a four team competition also?
 
Last edited:
Not at the expense of enlarging the 6N and thereby introducing more international matches on the top of 6N, Autumn Internationals, Tours and British Lions...............if there were a legitmate secondary 6 N for other european nations by all means!

Indeed, on second thoughts, why not make it the 4N with two dropping down to the second tier and that becoming a four team competition also?
I see where you're coming from. Frankly I'm bored out of my mind seeing Ireland play tests every year against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The novelty is gone. Equally I'm sure Ireland playing 3 tests in NZ last summer didn't exactly excite the locals. We need to increase the amount of test nations. I think getting nations like Georgia, Romania, Russia, USA, Canada, Japan, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa more home tests against tier 1 opposition is a starting point. If Georgia entering a 7 Nations competition comes at the expense of 1 fewer test against the Sanzar nations every year, so be it.
 
I'd like to see it grow, too - yet some teams of the second tier seem to lack financial basis to embark on such an adventure - some guys from Roumania told me they see their domestic system going down the drains already as most of their key players have signed abroad and national organization rather broke, also seems to be an issue in other countries. I mean they have this long tradition of Rugby but without any presence in the media...and some are even sceptical of their participation in tournaments like the Amlin or North Sea Cup, just as it does not make any sense money-wise. The idea is great but I don't see it in the near future.
 
I dont think this is a good idea it would be better to have a 6 nations that is ultra competitive and every match been close then adding more teams and lowering the competitiveness and standard of the rugby. A test match between the 6 nations teams and other European teams every now and then would not be better.
 
Frankly I'm bored out of my mind seeing Ireland play tests every year against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The novelty is gone. Equally I'm sure Ireland playing 3 tests in NZ last summer didn't exactly excite the locals. .

Agreed and as per previous posts from me!
 
i know italy had beat ireland a couple of times in the 90's

has georgia ever wan a game against 6 nations opposition?

How Georgia can win over a 6 Nations team if they never plays test against them.

So, Georgia results against a 6N opposition during last 2 RWC
2011
Scotland 15-6 Georgia
England 41-10 Georgia
Italia during 2011 6Nations : England 59-13 Italy and Scotland 21-8 Italy

2007
Ireland 14-10 Georgia
France 64-7 Georgia
Italia during 2007 6Nations : Italia 3-39 England and Italia 24-51 Ireland

Also, rugby in Georgia is very popular... this month, over 22K spectators v Canada, approx 23K or 24K v Samoa

My idea :
Every 2 years : 6 Nations
Every 4 years : Euro 10 Nations - 6 Nations + 4 best 6 Nations B teams (Georgia, Romania + Russia? Spain? Portugal = 2 pool of 5 teams = 4 games + semi and final)

For example :
2014 : 6 Nations
2015 : RWC
2016 : 6N
2017 : Euro10
2018 : 6N
2019 : RWC ...

And this can solve problems during seasons with a RWC
 
Last edited:
The problem with a 7 Nations would be that that takes 7 rounds. The six Nations only takes 5 rounds. So you add one team and get two extra rounds - hard to fit that into the season. You want to include Georgia in some way but I think you can do that without increasing the size of the 6 Nations.
 
no, for sure Georgia today or the last few years hasn't been at the level of Italy when it first joined the 5N to make it the 6N. They certainly had Tier 2 scores against some sides, but England putting 80 on them was due to England playing the best Rugby of its history by a mile, and they actually won a game in their very first tournament.
If Georgia is worse than Italy during joining 5 nations, it means that as of today, they shall win against us very easily. Do you believe that it is possible? Besides, Georgia has very good youth teams, with equally strong forwards and back row. We beat them already twice at u-17 level, rugby infrastructure is developing really fast and number of youth enrolled in rugby is increasing each year in Georgia.Therefore, I think we do not necessarily need to join six nations to beat them during upcoming years. P.S. I am deliberately silent about the issue of naturalization :))
 
Top