Rugby bosses to discuss radical plan for North v South competition
NEWS: A new international rugby competition will once again be the topic of discussion as World Rugby looks to shake up the global calendar.
According to a report by The Guardian, rugby bosses from around the world are set to meet on Tuesday to discuss a North v South competition to be staged every two years.
It is set to be the biggest change to the rugby landscape since the game turned professional in 1995.
The competition, which will likely start in 2026, is an updated version of the Nations Championship which was proposed in 2019.
It will not be played in years when the World Cup and British and Irish Lions tours will take place.
The report states that the 12-team competition will consist of teams from the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship. Japan and Fiji will be the other two teams.
Japan will compete as a Southern Hemisphere team even though they are in the north.
Each Northern Hemisphere team will play a South hemisphere team once, either home or away.
The Six Nations teams will play their three away games against Southern Hemisphere opponents in July before facing the remaining three southern teams at home in November.
The top two teams will meet in a grand final.
There will also be a second division, featuring Samoa, Tonga, the United States, Canada, Uruguay, Chile, Namibia, Georgia, Romania, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.
According to The Times, there will be two promotion/relegation play-offs – one for the north and one for the south.
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