League of Nations

[Leonormous Boozer]

I like it

 

[die_mole]

I don't think the pro/rel is that confusing it's just the that they are using the six nations as the starting point for the Northern hemisphere. After the competition starts they aren't related in anyway whatsoever.

What an absolutely pointless load of ****

oh **** off. You're telling me you're not going to be more excited for England-New Zealand now that Four crypto points are on the line and a spot in the Coinbase.com Nations League presented by MuskSpeech.

The whole thing will be so repetitive too. You play six regular season games against teams that you would then play again in the final. Just come up with a standardized test schedule.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I like it

Figures no quarter finals

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Figures no quarter finals

Exactly

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

It's almost like they are trying to fix a problem we don't have while ignoring the ones we do have.

They need to fix 'the spectacle' of the game first, Sort the random reffing out and then look at how to get more fairer games across the board. Stupid gimmick 'world league' options isn't what rugby needs right now.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

This isn't about alignment or anything other than money. Alignment might be a by product but fundamentally this is about the bottom line.

Where money's involved, as it now is in rugby, growth becomes the key word. And it is virtually impossible to grow a team sport in a country which doesn't have the tradition / infrastructure - if that sounds defeatist, well it's the reality. So the assets that are known to work get sweated. Plenty of talk of 40% growth around all this and there's the rub.

If this doesn't happen now, something like this will happen eventually.

Cricket used to pretend it needed to cut its calendar for player welfare reasons. Never did and all pretence went out of the window with franchise cricket which is all about players filling their boots while still able to walk in a series of instantly forgettable games, The 'proper' international game has suffered badly as a result.

Less is more is not a phrase familiar to most sports administrators. But at some point change will come.

 

[mdaclarke]

This isn't about alignment or anything other than money. Alignment might be a by product but fundamentally this is about the bottom line.

Where money's involved, as it now is in rugby, growth becomes the key word. And it is virtually impossible to grow a team sport in a country which doesn't have the tradition / infrastructure - if that sounds defeatist, well it's the reality. So the assets that are known to work get sweated. Plenty of talk of 40% growth around all this and there's the rub.

If this doesn't happen now, something like this will happen eventually.

Cricket used to pretend it needed to cut its calendar for player welfare reasons. Never did and all pretence went out of the window with franchise cricket which is all about players filling their boots while still able to walk in a series of instantly forgettable games, The 'proper' international game has suffered badly as a result.

Less is more is not a phrase familiar to most sports administrators. But at some point change will come.

Agree with this 100%. However I think they would be better concentrating on what they have. The risk of relegation could result in Rugby losing a foothold in an established market.

 

[mdaclarke]

I have a feeling that no agreement was reached. We would have heard about it by now.

I can't see any benefit to for the 6N and RC to this proposal. The impact of relegation would be catastrophic.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I have a feeling that no agreement was reached. We would have heard about it by now.

I can't see any benefit to for the 6N and RC to this proposal. The impact of relegation would be catastrophic.

Absolutely. There was zero sign in the quotes I'd read that the 6N nations would support relegation even though Italy would bypass the rankings and be in the top division AND it would have no impact on the 6N membership.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

IF The Rugby Championship 2nd Division comes to pass*, and after seeing the mid year tours I think the way ahead for this would be to almost keep the status quo but make a sort of Ryder Cup versus World Cricket Test Championship hybrid.

Top 12 in Europe versus Top 12 in Rest of World

Keep test series in July (even potentially extend test series to reduce travelling) and keep annual points tally of Europw vs rest of World. Wach year calculate the Top 6 based on rankings and have top 6 face off against the other sides top 6 to keep things competitive. But all points going towards the same tally to generate wider international interest in some less attractive fixtures.

It would feed in to a sort of NH vs SH dynamic which I think is an authentic rivalry. It also wouldn't increase travel or compete with the RWC. Due to numbers it may be that NA or Asia would need to join the European side, but this wouldn't be unworkable.

*

Asia Pacific Americas tournament

World Rugby CEO indicates a new international tournament on the horizon: "Gilpin says the Americas Rugby Championship, in which the US beat Chile between 2016 and 2019, is not due to return but plans are “quite advanced” for an “Asia Pacific Americas competition that will see USA, Canada...

www.therugbyforum.com

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

So it comes to pass (probably).

North versus south ‘grand final’ the crown jewel of new world league

Exclusive: Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides will form the backbone a new tournament with a 'grand final' held every two years

www.telegraph.co.uk

It's pretty clear there is zero commitment to any kind of promotion or relegation at any time. However, if this means the expansion of TRC to include Fiji I think promotion / relegation will become a thing as soon as a more commercially lucrative side is in position to replace Fiji.

It stinks. But assuming the San Fran agreement cross Tier tests (until 2032) are condensed into the other 2 years in the RWC cycle then it is an improvement in the horrific status quo from a Tier2 perspective. If they find a way to rip up the San Fran tests then its hard to see the positives outside of Japan.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

The current format of the Six Nations Championship will be ring-fenced, ending any hope South Africa held of joining the European competition

Good

Northern hemisphere sides will play three southern opponents away from home in the July window, bringing to an end the traditional summer tours of two or three Tests against one host country.

Lame

The future of the British and Irish Lions tours will be secured and in Lions years countries able to stage traditional tours as normal, and include more fixtures against tier two countries to enhance their development.

Which means that the new tournament will likely be the year after the RWC and the year after the Lions, so all the top players will be ******


Just a completely pointless exercise

All stakeholders are confident it will not diminish the status of the Rugby World Cup

Doubt it crossed their mind for even a second, to busy thinking about how much cash they can squeeze from the sponsors

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Can't read the telegraph article as it's behind a paid wall. So having to rely on Olyy's snippets.

Definitely against SA joining the 6Ns. Personally in favour of a relegation/ promotion if they are ever going to allow the likes of Georgia in. But Tbilisi is not as romantic as Rome, so doubt that will happen.

Sounds very much like what UEFA have done with Nations league to get rid of of so called friendlies. Just more matches and revenue for WR and the unions, against the background of wales union's dispute with players.

June/ July tests will always be an issue without a Global calendar. So no change there.

I am personally in favour of them introducing a plate and shield competition for the tier 2 nations at the RWC. But then that is only once. Every 4 years.

Like Wendyball, it's the whole club v country. I think Will just mean expanded squads, more subs? To make up for the fatigue factor.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

"

Revealed: World Rugby's blueprint for new global tournament
Exclusive: Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides will form the backbone a new tournament with a 'grand final' held every two years

By
Gavin Mairs,
CHIEF RUGBY UNION CORRESPONDENT
20 March 2023 • 8:58pm
England's centre Manu Tuilagi runs with the ball during the Autumn Nations Series International rugby union match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham stadium
A northern and southern hemisphere side will contest a 'grand final' every two years CREDIT: Getty Images/Ian Kington
Rugby chiefs have agreed a new world league blueprint that will see a northern versus southern hemisphere 'grand final' every two years, as well as the ringfencing of the Six Nations Championship, Telegraph Sport can reveal.

The new league structure, which will only include games that take place in the summer and autumn windows, is set to be introduced from 2026 and will be formed by two groups of six teams from each hemisphere – namely the Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides, wth Japan and Fiji also expected to be included.

The new format means that:

The current format of the Six Nations Championship will be ring-fenced, ending any hope South Africa held of joining the European competition or for the introduction of promotion and relegation.
Northern hemisphere sides will play three southern opponents away from home in the July window, bringing to an end the traditional summer tours of two or three Tests against one host country.
The fixtures will be replicated at the home venues of the northern hemisphere nations in the November window, with the top team from each pool facing each other in a grand final, and ranking play-off games for the others.
The tournament will be held every two years from 2026, with fixtures rotated so that every side plays against each other over a two-tournament cycle
From 2030, a promotion and relegation could be introduced to provide a pathway from a second-tier competition which is expected to be launched next year for nations including Georgia, Samoa and Tonga.
All stakeholders are confident it will not diminish the status of the Rugby World Cup, and it will be marketed as a battle of the hemispheres.
The future of the British and Irish Lions tours will be secured and in Lions years countries able to stage traditional tours as normal, and include more fixtures against tier two countries to enhance their development.
It is understood that negotiations, which began in March 2020, are now entering a final consultation phase with the clubs and players' representatives to ensure it has complete alignment and buy-in for a newly structured global season.

Senior sources have indicated that the new league is on course to be unveiled by the start of the Rugby World Cup in France this September.

"The fundamentals have been agreed," said one source close to the negotiations. "All key stakeholders have been involved and the structure of the season, the rugby and player welfare issues were resolved some time ago. It's just tying down some of the outstanding commercial issues, but we are well advanced on those as well. We are just about over the line."

The stakeholders, which have included World Rugby and players' representatives, hope that by adding a competitive narrative to the summer and autumn Test series, there will be a significant uplift in the broadcasting and commercial values for both hemispheres.

The northern and southern hemisphere divisions
The Six Nations already aggregated their broadcasting and commercial revenues as part of a deal known as 'Project Light' which would make a similar arrangement with their Sanzaar counterparts.

Central to the negotiations from the northern hemisphere perspective was excluding the Six Nations from the new world league, which proved to be the major stumbling block of talks about the failed 'Nations Championship' concept in 2019.

"It was imperative that we didn't mess around one of the major crown jewels of the game and risked that for a very hypothetical benefit," said another senior source.

"South Africa made public their interest in joining the Six Nations, but it was never up for discussion. We have never entertained expansion.

"This has been about finding an appropriate solution on the July and November windows, if we can do that it will be perfect development on the global scale for the game and find right equilibrium for the international game going forward.

"The new tournament will add a competitive north -v south narrative, which will not affect the World Cup or Lions tours and there is also the possibility for emerging nations to participate in it through a development phase below so that there could be some, some pathway between the two at some point would be in the great interest of the game.

What England's fixtures could look like
"All the stakeholders have been involved so there are no surprises for anyone."

One of the details still under discussion include the possibility of staging the grand final at a high-profile neutral venue to enhance the profile of the league and grow a new audience, with Hong Kong one possibility.

It is understood one of the outstanding issues is also the timing of the Rugby Championship in the new global season.

"Anything that improves the experience, the narrative should drive value for the fans and if it does then there will be incremental value for the game, not just in our nations but beyond," added another source. "This will be critical to help fund the game to compete with other sports and other forms of entertainment.""

 

[Derpus]

Good

Lame

Which means that the new tournament will likely be the year after the RWC and the year after the Lions, so all the top players will be ******


Just a completely pointless exercise

Doubt it crossed their mind for even a second, to busy thinking about how much cash they can squeeze from the sponsors

The three match tours (excluding France who always send a **** team) are great fun and the best test rugby outside the 6N & RWC IMO. The TRC is tired, old and predictable.

 

[NotTooAmused]

Just been catching up on this. Fantastic way to ensure the same wanky WR blazers keep their power. Shows that they blatantly don't care for emerging nations.

 

[Derpus]

Just been catching up on this. Fantastic way to ensure the same wanky WR blazers keep their power. Shows that they blatantly don't care for emerging nations.

Have they ever cared about anyone but the home nations?

 

[NotTooAmused]

Have they ever cared about anyone but the home nations?

They pretend to, but this is a blatant "**** you" to them.