The world rugby landscape is set to change dramatically in 2026 when a new global competition is to be launched. It will feature the ten countries from the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship and the question on the lips of many will be this: What is the point of the World Cup?
Owned and operated by SANZAAR and Six Nations Rugby, the elite competition will take place in alternating years, outside of the British & Irish Lions tours and the World Cup.
SANZAAR, the governing body of the Rugby Championship, released a statement on Saturday saying that the new competition will be played in the existing July and November Test windows.
Clearly, there is a lot of money to be made because SANZAAR says the competition is the result of a collective process that includes World Rugby, the unions of the participating countries and, crucially, the unions representing the players.
More top-class Test matches featuring the best teams means more broadcasting revenue and that means more pay for everyone involved.
But this new competition is basically another World Cup minus the pool games featuring the minnow countries, so surely the impact of the actual World Cup is going to be diminished.
Also, two spaces have been reserved for invitational Unions to join the SANZAAR teams. A transparent selection process will be managed by SANZAAR, supported by World Rugby and the International Rugby Players, to determine these two invitational Unions.
That means there will be 12 teams in the competition and that is just about a World Cup.
SANZAAR is quick to point out that the players have endorsed the yet-to-be-named competition.
“Involved at every stage of developing the new competition has been the International Rugby Players. This connection has been key in supporting the wider conversations around the club and international calendar taking place in parallel, and to ensure player welfare has remained a fundamental priority in all decision making,” the statement said.
To ensure the minnows left out don’t feel too bad, World Rugby will create a second-tier competition that will feature teams from Europe and the rest of the world, with SANZAAR and Six Nations Rugby “actively involved in cementing the link between the two divisions.”
“Establishing the two competitions will pave the way for promotion and relegation matches, contributing towards a valuable pathway for teams, and will support ambitions to sustain and grow the global game.”
IOL Sport
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