Six Nations and Rugby Championship bosses will meet in London next month to revive the World Nations Championship in a fresh bid to overhaul rugby’s global calendar.
Three years after the concept was killed off by promotion and relegation fears, the chief executives of rugby’s 10 most powerful national unions are close to agreeing the structure of a global championship to be held every two years from 2024.
“If we can work together for an outcome that produces a global champion every two years, engages our fan bases more than we do now and throughout the year, and provides a pathway for rugby’s emerging nations to improve and progress, then we can be in a much better position to grow our game and take it to the next level,” Sanzaar boss Brendan Morris told the Sydney Morning Herald.
A global champion would be crowned every two years in four, skipping World Cup and British and Irish Lions years.
Two 12-team divisions of established and emerging nations are still on the cards, with the Six Nations and Rugby Championship unions in the top division, plus two more southern hemisphere countries, such as Fiji and Japan.