2023-10-24 16:06:13
The compromise took a long time to come but it was finally found. This Tuesday morning, the member countries of World Rugby, the international federation, agreed on the creation of a new competition, the Nations Cup. This “Nations Cup” will bring together 24 selections, divided into two divisions. It will take place every two years, starting in 2026, in even years, without a World Cup or British Lions tour to the southern hemisphere.
This competition will be played over the international windows of July and November. It will replace the traditional test matches between southern and northern nations. THE first division of the Nations Cup will bring together the 12 best selections in world rugby: the participants in the Six Nations Tournament (France, England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy), the 4 countries of the Rugby Championship (New Zealand , South Africa, Australia and Argentina), plus two other countries in the top 12 of the World Rugby rankings (currently Fiji and Japan).
The second division will bring together the countries ranked 13 to 24 in the world by World Rugby. The Daily Mail understands that the project was adopted by 41 votes to 10, i.e. the quorum of 75% of votes necessary. There is no, in this project, a promotion-relegation system at best before 2030, which provokes the anger of certain voices, notably that of the Argentinian Agustin Pichot, who speaks of the “death of rugby”.
This new championship, a bit like the Nations League in football launched by UEFA to give interest to old “friendly” matches, will allow nations from the northern and southern hemispheres to meet and score points. to win the right to play a final at the end of November.
Six Nations Tournament reduced by one week
This required extending the international calendar, including an additional date in November (4 weekends). The risk, in France, was to increase the number of duplicates between international matches and matches of the Top 14, the championship organized by the National Rugby League (LNR), which signed an agreement with the French Federation (FFR) on the made available to internationals. One of the compensations obtained was, according to Rugbyrama, a one-week reduction in the schedule of the Six Nations Tournament, from 7 to 6 weeks in February-March (a single weekend cut instead of two).
“In its entirety, the initial text even imposed seven additional duplicates. It pretty much meant the death of the NRL, which we didn’t want. This, among other things, is what the negotiations focused on yesterday (Monday) until late in the evening and again this morning. We wanted adjustments to the text, we got them. We therefore gave our green light this Tuesday at 8 a.m.,” FFR president Florian Grill told Rugbyrama on Tuesday.
World Rugby also validated this Tuesday the increase from 20 to 24 nations in the Rugby World Cup. The final of the 2023 edition takes place on Saturday at the Stade de France between New Zealand and South Africa. It will therefore be the last with 20 nations, since the move to 24 will be effective from the 2027 edition in Australia. A press conference of world rugby leaders is scheduled for this Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in Paris.
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