RUGBY WORLD SERIES

[melon]

A number of the top teams have supported the proposed "World Series of Rugby". The teams to be involved include:

• Australia
• Argentina
• England
• France
• Ireland
• Italy
• New Zealand
• Scotland
• South Africa
• Wales

Suggested format:

• Held twice between World Cup years
• Six Nations and Tri Nations games to count for tournament points
• Adds Argentina to an expanded Tri Nations format
• Northern and southern hemisphere teams would then play each other once
• Final to be played in Cardiff, Paris or London.

Jon Geddes (The Daily Telegraph)

THE IRB is moving to introduce a 10-team World Series of Rugby tournament that will revolutionise the game internationally.

Australia is one of the driving forces behind the tournament which would involve heavyweights England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, the Wallabies and Argentina.

The series would be staged twice between World Cups when the British and Irish Lions were not touring. The proposal is a key item on the agenda at the IRB's Integrated Season Forum which started yesterday in south-west England.

The concept would see Six Nations games counting for tournament points as would three designated Tri Nations matches involving the Wallabies, Springboks and All Blacks.

The Argentinian games would also be scheduled into the calendar or they could be included in an expanded Tri-Nations format. The northern and southern hemisphere teams would then play each other once.

"The games could be played in either the June or November window or it may be a different structure they come up with,'' said ARU head of Rugby Services Peter Rowles.

"It might be six Tests in a row with three in the north and three in the south. It could be played under a similar model to Super 14 with bonus points.''

At the end of the round robin the top two teams play the grand final either in Paris, Cardiff or London. It would mean that Australia played 11 or 12 Tests in season depending on whether they made the grand final of the tournament.

The World Series would bring an end to dud Test matches when nations send second string sides to Australia. It would stop the practice of national sides just looking to peak once every four years when the World Cup is staged.

"Certainly that concept has been on the IRB's agenda for sometime,'' Rowles said.

SANZAR partners Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have all had discussions about the World Series proposal.

"Australia and New Zealand are certainly thinking similarly about it and South Africa are pretty open as well,'' Rowles said.

It is understood England are also supporters of the series. Australia's representatives at the IRB conference are ARU deputy CEO Matt Carroll and chairman Peter McGrath.

If World Series gets the go-ahead it will start after the next World Cup.

[/b]

So whats your take on this? Do you think it would work? Do you think it would be beneficial for the game?

 

[Fushitsusha]

Someone has been playing EA Rugby 06.

Anyways, it's an interesting idea.

 

[Incredible Schalk]

Someone has been playing EA Rugby 06.

Anyways, it's an interesting idea.
[/b]

Haha i did a 10 nations the other day :bana:

This sounds good but travelling and the lack of time for such a mass competition could work against it. Would be great to see though rather than the odd test match in the summer.

 

[ikvat]

Even if some points are not very clear, sound good for me! :bravo:

 

[SmokeyMonkey]

Wouldn't this devalue the World Cup?

 

[ikvat]

Wouldn't this devalue the World Cup?
[/b]

No more than Euro

 

[BokMagic]

Abso-fecking-lutely brilliant concept! So what you`ll get is an expanded international window, with the top European clubs unable to restrict their top players from competing, as is happening at present with the BaaBaas.

You`ll also get full-strength test teams, none of this 2nd-stringer crap that everyone`s been guilty of lately. And any competition that provides more high-calibre test rugby between 1st-choice teams, and which also includes the Argies, is worth support indeed.

Just a bit sad that at least 1 Pi team couldn`t be included. Now if only the PIRA team concept could really take off, with a 1st-choice PIRA team also touring maybe the NH once every 4 years, almost like the Lions does down here in the SH, that`ll really get test rugby back in its rightful place- as the true showpiece of world rugby!

 

[Prestwick]

My question would be: when the world series comes around, would it be played in that year instead of the usual summer/autumn internationals?

Furthermore, how would this solve player burnout by burdening an already overloaded season to have a mini-world cup twice in the four year cycle?

I mean, this isn't revolutionary, this is just the iRB copying the ICC's Champions Trophy which is seen in the Cricket world as just another cynical license to print money in the cricket mad nations of India & Pakistan via lucrative sponsorship and extra television revenue. To be honest, the fact that the RFU support it means nothing as they chase the dollar with more lust than a Thai transexual hooker used to chase an Australian soldier out on R&R from Vietnam.

However if the rather obvious is true and that it'll just mean the same number of games played by team a in a summer or autumn international test series anyway then I wouldn't mind seeing it.

 

[BokMagic]

Well Prestwick, the IRB has been talking a lot of sense around a global season of late. Mind you, just talking, not doing. Yet.

So my take on this is that the teams will probably end up playing the same no. of test matches as at present, with the November test window falling away, or something along those lines. So basically the NH test season will go on for slightly longer, and the SH season start slightly earlier, if I understand the concept correctly?

And no, not even close to the ICC Champions Trophy. ODI`s does not equal real cricket anyway. Not even at the CWC.

 

[KZNSharksFan]

Wonderful idea, would really put the "test" back into test matches. But! What about the overload on players already? What with the expanded super series, expanded tri nations, expanded six nations etc etc. won't this be a bridge too far for players?

 

[woosaah]

This would probably limit the club games that the players play.
As i am all for the idea of this i feel that the final shouldnt always be played up in the NH every time. It should be at the top qualifiers home ground OR it should rotate between the NH top qualifer and the SH top qualifer. then it would rotate between hemispheres and more of the other countries could eb in to see some quality rugby

just my thought

 

[fcukernaut]

Wonderful idea, would really put the "test" back into test matches. But! What about the overload on players already? What with the expanded super series, expanded tri nations, expanded six nations etc etc. won't this be a bridge too far for players? [/b]

As I read it there are no aditional fixtures. All it means is certain dedicated fixtures in the Tri-nations will count towards the "world series" standings as well as the tri-nations and then at the end of year tours that normally occur would just mean points towards the standings. Ex: New Zealands schedule.

June Tests:
New Zealand vs Wales
New Zealand vs France

Four nations:
New Zealand vs Australia
New Zealand vs South Africa
New Zealand vs Argentina

November Tests:
England vs New Zealand
Italy vs New Zealand
Scotland vs New Zealand
Ireland vs New Zealand

Then the championship games during the next applicable test window. Or have I read that completely wrong?

Wouldn't this devalue the World Cup?[/b]

Which can only be a good thing if it means a return to importance of between WC tests.

 

[Prestwick]

And no, not even close to the ICC Champions Trophy. ODI`s does not equal real cricket anyway. Not even at the CWC.
[/b]

Then why are us, India & Pakistan so f***ing hung up and uptight about our one day squads?!?!?! We almost had a postmortem bigger than Princess Diana's funeral when England crashed out of the Cricket World Cup this year!!! :cryy:

I jest, but you cannot fail but see the similarities. Still though, this uses existing capacity rather than chuck yet more matches on and would thus work, even if the existing domestic seasons stayed the same (remember that England for a start now have access to all players for all of their internationals so no more excuses about Guinness Premiership or HEC finals now). I think the iRB should go ahead with it and give it a crack, if only for a single season.

 

[mimic]

Considering the All Blacks play the Wallabies and the Springboks 2 or 3 times each every year, which game will have points go towards the World Series points table?

Or will they have a points aggregate system?

 

[fcukernaut]

Considering the All Blacks play the Wallabies and the Springboks 2 or 3 times each every year, which game will have points go towards the World Series points table?

Or will they have a points aggregate system? [/b]

As I interpreted it, every team would end up playing everyone once. So in the Four nations, they'd just pick the three games. So one year the All Blacks schedule for the games that would count:

All Blacks vs Australia
South Africa vs New Zealand
All Blacks vs Argentina

Then each competition it would switch, so that the All Blacks would have two games on the road that counted towards the competition the next time around.

 

[Prestwick]

Maybe the last game of the Bledisloe Cup tie for example?

 

[oliv6613]

Why not?
It must be a good idea about the calendar is very charged