Bold World League plan to future-proof international rugby

World Rugby is seeking to future-proof the international game by creating an annual 12-team World League concept.

World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper wants to expand the game globally.

World Rugby is seeking to future-proof the international game by creating a World League concept that will take all the “friendlies” currently played in the June and November Test windows and fold them into a meaningful 12-team annual competition.

Plans for the proposal will be discussed at the World Rugby executive committee meeting in Sydney tomorrow but they are at such an embryonic stage that officials are reluctant to flesh out options lest an entirely different model is adopted.

But with World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper conceding that the majority of all Test matches are currently “friendlies” — standalone games, unconnected with any larger competition — there is scope there for adventurous thinking. Certainly, too, broadcasters and viewers alike would see those Tests as more meaningful and relevant if every result counted beyond mere boasting rights.

“At the moment 56 per cent of the games of international rugby in the world are friendlies and that’s what we are looking at and maybe swinging it back towards more meaningful competitive games and that may even be with interaction between north and south,” Gosper said.

“There are a number of models out there. I think ultimately it would help add even more meaning to a Six Nations or The Rugby Championships so it would be good news for everyone, I think.”

World Rugby last year somehow sorted out the competing interests not just of various nations but also the two hemispheres to arrive at the San Francisco agreement that rescheduled the international calendar and they have no wish to revisit those negotiations.

This year was the last year of June Tests — which completely disrupt Super Rugby. There will be no inbound tours next year because of the World Cup so that by the time normal tours resume in 2020, with another visit by Ireland, those mid-year Tests will be played not in June but July.

That is as far as Australia has locked in northern hemisphere opponents. But if the World League concept, first broached by World Rugby deputy chairman Gus Pichot, is realised, then the July Tests and those played on the annual spring tours by the Wallabies, All Blacks, Springboks and Pumas in November could become the qualifying rounds of a global tournament.

Seemingly the easiest way to arrive at a 12-team competition would be to combine the Six Nations contenders — England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy — with the four Rugby Championships rivals, and then add the next highest teams on the world rankings. Except that at the moment, Italy ranks 14th on the World Rugby standings, with Fiji (10), Japan (11), Tonga (12) and Georgia (13) all listed ahead of them.

Certainly there is scope for bringing Tier Two nations into this World League concept, particularly if World Rugby is planning by 2027 to open up the World Cup to more than its current 20 countries.

“Our mindset is one of expansion,” said Gosper. “We are an expanding sport looking for footprint and economics outside the markets we’re reliant on. The sport is actually very reliant on France and the United Kingdom so we have to find new markets to continue growing. The World Cup is a great way to expand your geographic footprint.”

Meanwhile, Michael Thomson, who announced yesterday he was stepping down as Brumbies CEO after less than two years of his three-year contract, had a couple of parting requests: a new Super Rugby competition that was not a continuation of the old model and a new indoor stadium for Canberra.

“It’s always been progressive, the most progressive rugby comp in the world and we need to get back to thinking along those lines,” Thomson told The Australian. “I know that Rugby Australia is and I guess they need to ensure our SANZAAR partners are as well. One thing I would say is that I don’t think the status quo is sustainable. And probably the other question about South Africa’s involvement is: how committed are they to Super Rugby? I don’t know.”

As he has done before, Thomson pressed again for an indoor stadium, comparable to the functional facility at Dunedin, one that would give Brumbies fans reason to come out on a cold winter’s night.

“We as an organisation recognise that there is always pressures on government funding but, that said, we think it would be a great thing for Canberra if we could get an indoor stadium up and running,” he said.

Current Brumbies chairman Phil Thomson — no relation — will take over as CEO.