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AFPFOX SPORTS
March 7, 2019 5:15AM
World rugby chiefs have published detailed plans for their controversial new annual Nations Championship that would see northern and southern hemisphere teams compete in a global tournament including promotion and relegation.
Governing body World Rugby was widely criticised by players’ unions over the idea of a 12-team league.
Reports said Fiji as well as fellow Pacific Islanders Tonga and Samoa would be excluded and leading Test stars voiced fears over undue player strain.
“Contrary to reports, our proposed competition provides opportunities for all teams to compete at the top level on merit, with promotion and relegation,” it said in a statement.
“Under this model, the Pacific Islands and all teams outside the current Six Nations and The Rugby Championship would have a potential pathway” to play annually at the highest level of the game for the first time.
“Player welfare is fundamental to our sport,” it added.
“Within the original proposal, players would play a maximum of 13 matches if their team reaches the final, compared to an average of between 12 and 14 Test matches presently. Most teams would play 11 matches.”
The proposed Championship would see the formation of two conferences — a European conference and a rest of the world conference — each with two divisions of six teams and a third division comprising 16 teams.
Each nation in the top division would play the other five nations in their own section as well as the six in the other conference, making a total of 11 regular season matches per nation, per year.
The European conference would initially comprise the Six Nations teams — the current trophy would be awarded after the five rounds of fixtures between those teams, with championship points carried forwards for remaining fixtures.
The rest of the world conference would comprise the Rugby Championship teams — Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa — plus two further teams, qualifying on the basis of World Rugby rankings.
Under the current rankings these would be Japan and Fiji.
The top two nations from each conference would play cross-conference semifinals in November, followed by a grand final.
The competition would not be held in a Rugby World Cup year and there would be a truncated version in a year featuring a British and Irish Lions tour.
World Rugby said it had been tasked by unions last year to look at competition structures that could reinvigorate the July and November windows.
The aim was to improve opportunities for players, establish a pathway for emerging nations and financial certainty.
“Using the existing calendar windows the World Rugby Nations Championship will provide season-long context and meaning to international rugby,” World Rugby said in a video presentation on Twitter.
“Every match will count.”
Division two would be the same format as division one, with conference winners facing off in relegation and promotion playoffs against the teams finishing bottom of division one.
There would also be promotion and relegation between divisions two and three.
“With the proposed model incorporating competitions that are not owned or run by World Rugby, not all unions are presently in favour of immediate promotion and relegation,” the World Rugby statement said.
“We continue to consider the feedback, but remain absolutely committed to an eventual pathway for all.
“Change is always difficult, and nobody expected complex multi-stakeholder discussions to be simple, however for a sport to grow and thrive, it must explore ways to innovate and evolve,” it added.
The game’s powerbrokers also revealed proposals to expand the Rugby World Cup from 20 to 24 teams in time for the 2027 tournament, to enhance its position as “the pinnacle global event.”
https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/ru...04aeac59757b0b
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
I love that
Yes, of course this competition has promotion and relegation but we don't own the competitions that are being used for 1/2 of the games and "not all unions" are in favour of it.
I bet that includes all of the 6 nations and all of SANZAAR, good luck enforcing promotion/relegation in that instance
C'mon the![]()
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It's the Six Nations who are opposed to it for obvious reasons. Which is why I don't understand why the push to include existing structures such as the RC and 6N's. In the early days of the proposal it was set to be run through the July (as of next year) and November test windows. And this is how it should be run in my opinion. Let the 6N's and RC continue as is while incorporating everyone into the Nations League during those windows. They are pretty close to the structure as well. Instead of going for a 12 team 1st division they should look at a 14 team 1st split into two groups of 7. Instead of European/ROTW look to balance the groups as much as possible by have 3/4 north and 3/4 south etc. Three games hosted in the south in July and three in the north in November. Winner of each group plays in the finals. Bottom teams from each group would be compared and the team with the worst points difference plays in the pro/rel playoff.
Aside from everything else I see wrong with this concept. But 3 matches in the southern hemisphere would amount to 1 in Sydney, 1 in NZ and 1 in SA.
See what I did there.
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
Australia vs Italy at the G
The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor
Still waiting for the Rebels and VRU's annual reports. With the VRU owning the side they can't hide under a pty ltd to avoid releasing them publicly.
'I may be a Senator but I am not stupid'
https://omny.fm/shows/the-alan-jones-breakfast-show/cameron-clyne
Link to Senate Report http://www.aph.gov.au/senate_ca
https://www.change.org/p/rugby-australia-petition-for-cameron-clyne-to-resign-as-chairman-of-the-rugby-australia-board
on that note, the ARU are behind on their publication schedule as well
http://www.rugbyau.com/about/about-us/governance
Takes time to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
Nations Championship: World Rugby to decide on new concept in Dublin
World Rugby's revolutionary Nations Championship concept faces a crucial 24 hours as the powerbrokers of the world game meet in Dublin on Wednesday.
The Six Nations unions last month agreed to a period of due diligence while also weighing up offers from private equity.
Sources say there has been "real engagement" over the world league plan, and remain optimistic.
The deadline for a final decision is likely to be set for June.
Scheduled to launch in 2022, the Nations Championship would see a top division of 12 teams from both hemispheres play each other once in a calendar year, either through traditional competitions like the Six Nations or an enlarged Rugby Championship, or in summer or autumn Test windows.
The top two teams would then meet in an end-of-year showpiece final.
It is designed to globalise the calendar and increase competitiveness, with many international games currently glorified 'friendlies'.
A major sticking point is the concept - and the timing - of promotion and relegation, with certain unions keen on a period of ring-fencing in order to establish a vibrant and sustainable second tier.
The process of two countries joining the Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides in the top tier is also up for debate, with a 10-team first division being touted for an initial period before expansion.
Potential tweaks to the proposals will also be discussed at the World Rugby council meeting.
The players' union are also believed to harbour reservations over the travel required in the July international window, when northern hemisphere teams traditionally play in the south.
However, despite the various issues, it's believed some of the more reticent countries are being swayed by the financial package on offer from World Rugby.
The Nations Championship is being backed by a £5bn investment from sports marketing giants Infront.
For example the Rugby Football Union are thought to be open-minded, especially in light of the worrying financial picture at Twickenham.
The World Rugby council consists of 51 members across various rugby territories.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/48348250
Nail-biting time for RA!
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
And what about the omission of Fiji & Japan from tier 1? Didn’t World Rugby promise last month that they wouldn’t be demoted.
Their exclusion has been rejected and it will go ahead as a 12 team competition alongside an increase in money from £5b to £6.2b over 12 years.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/ru...ions-deal.html
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...cross-the-line