The competition may include a Northern and Southern Hemisphere Grand Final every two years. Credit: GETTY IMAGES
World Rugby is looking to secure an agreement to extend the test match window to be played every fall during key London meetings next week, which could be a 'breakthrough moment' for the new world league competition.In March, Telegraph Sport reported that a plan had been agreed to host a new tournament starting in 2026, including a “grand final” of the northern and southern hemispheres every two years, as well as fencing in the Six Nations Championship ring.Since then, the final phase of consultation has been held, including player and league polls, and all major stakeholders from the northern and southern hemispheres will gather at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington for a four-day summit next week to discuss the findings.
Two days were also set aside for negotiating changes to World Rugby Regulation 9, which guarantees the release of players for international matches from three to four weekends in November.
< p>This is needed to host a “grand final” and possibly also a promotion and relegation match from 2030 to provide a path away from the second tier competition expected to be launched next year for countries such as Georgia, Samoa and Tonga .
'Stakeholders from all sides'Portas Consulting, a global management consulting firm based in London, is leading the Reg 9 review, and hope grows that a deal can be closed .
“The stage is set here to close this case,” said one source close to the talks. “You have willing parties from all sides – the Six Nations group, the Premier League and it looks like the Sanzaar (the main unions in the southern hemisphere) are coming together as well.”
Sources close to the talks say the deal is a fourth Test Rugby weekend will be critical to securing a new global season structure that could also see the Southern Hemisphere Rugby Championship move from its traditional summer slot to coincide with the Six Nations in February and March.< /p> Northern and southern hemispheres
It is understood that World Rugby wants to host a summit similar to the one hosted in San Francisco in January 2017, which led to the latest global agreement for the season, during the Rugby World Cup in France in September and October, pending the unveiling of a new “Nations Cup” during the tournament.
“The format is agreed, the last detail to be discussed is the share of income and the difficulties associated with the fourth weekend of autumn,” another source said.< /p
“The French Top 14 league is taking the toughest line on this issue, but if we can agree on rule 9, it will be a breakthrough moment.”
To gain the support of clubs, especially in France (English clubs already have agreement with the Rugby Union to run four Tests each autumn), it is likely that changes to Regulation 9 will also include financial compensation to recognize their financial risk and investment in player development.
“I'm going to walk into this room and say, 'Let's get on with this,'” one of the sources said. “Let's take a constructive look at how the player release mechanism will work.”
Players are concerned about Six Nations fatigue. six weeks to have an extra Test Rugby weekend in November, although this is currently out of the question.
Understandably, some players have raised concerns about the physical demands of playing in the Championship with just one day off, while there is also opposition in some unions.
Warren Gatland, head coach for Wales, told Telegraph Sport that The Celtic nations and Italy will find it difficult to cope given their smaller playing base and this could affect the quality of rugby shown to fans.
“It may be normal for France and England, but I'm not sure the rest of us can handle the grueling demands of reducing six nations from seven to six weeks,” Gatland said.
< p>“And if now they reduce the weekly vacation, the next goal will be to reduce it to five weeks. The welfare of the players must be taken into account. We've had enough trouble this season to finish with two games in a row. Fans also want teams to play at their best and not because of injuries.”
What England matches could look like
Other sources suggest that the Six Nations may not have to be cut if the last weekend in November only includes the final and the promotion and relegation match, rather than all the nations participating in the playoffs, to determine the final standings.
The proposed new league structure, which would only include games played in the summer and fall windows, would consist of two groups of six teams from each hemisphere, namely the Six Nations Teams and the Rugby Championship . , and Japan and Fiji are also expected.
Teams from the northern hemisphere will play three southern rivals away from home in the July window, ending the traditional summer tours of two or three Tests against a single host. countries.
Materials will be played in the home stadiums of the northern hemisphere countries in the November window, with the tournament held every two years starting in 2026, with matches rotated so that each side plays against each other over a cycle of two tournaments.
Stakeholders are confident that there will be significant growth in broadcast and commercial value for both hemispheres.
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