World Rugby has used the gathering of the sport in Paris not only to celebrate the Rugby World Cup but also to sign off on a significant change to the way that both the Men’s and Women’s games are played at international level.
The World Rugby Council statement says that this represents “a seminal moment for the sport that marks a new era of opportunity, certainty and growth for the game, a fitting finale to its 200th birthday year.”
For the Men’s game it will mean a new bi-annual tournament to be played in two divisions of twelve teams in each starting in 2026 after the British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia in 2025.
The Six nations of Europe and the four Super Rugby countries of New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina will be joined by two more southern hemisphere teams who will play three cross-over games in the south in July and in the North in November. The teams that finish with the best record from North and South will play against each other on the last weekend in November in the Northern Hemisphere to determine that year’s Champions, with games the same weekend for each of the other teams to determine a final finishing order from one to 12.
For the IRFU it will guarantee the financial boost of the November internationals is added to by a fourth game.
The week this needs to find will come from there being only one weekend off as opposed to two in the Guinness Six nations from 2026.
The second division will comprise 12 teams from the next level, including the likes of Portugal and Uruguay who performed with credit at this year’s Rugby World Cup.
In the third iteration of the tournament in 2030 there will be promotion and relegation every two years.
In the Women’s game there will now be dedicated International windows of seven and eight weeks to account for the playing of the Six nations and the WXV tournament.
“It is fitting that we finish Rugby World Cup 2023, the sport’s greatest celebration of togetherness, with the sport’s greatest feat of togetherness,” said World Rugby Chair Sir Bill Beaumont.
“Agreement on the men’s and women’s global calendars and their content is the most significant development in the sport since the game went professional. An historic moment for our sport that sets us up collectively for success.”
“We now look forward to an exciting new era for our sport commencing in 2026. An era that will bring certainty and opportunity for all. An era that will support the many, not the few, and an era that will supercharge the development of the sport beyond its traditional and often self-imposed boundaries. I would like to thank all my colleagues for their spirit of collaboration. Today, we have achieved something special.”
No indication has been given on sponsorship or broadcast arrangements for the new tournament in the Men’s game but the sport will be hoping that some of the existing global sponsors will want to be involved and that room might be created for some others to get involved.
