World Rugby has abandoned plans for the Nations Championship.
The competition had been intended to begin in 2022, with reassurances from the sport governing body saying it would not have interfered with the existing Six Nations, Lions Tours or the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship.
The tournament would have involved 24 international teams.
It would have been broken into two conferences with 12 teams in each – with a promotion and relegation system as part of the format.
World Rugby said the main objective for creating the concept was to make a sustainable financial model for unions and to help enhance the sport around the world.
There had been multiple concerns voiced from people within the sport, including Ireland out-half Johnny Sexton who said a lot of players felt it was a “commercial deal on the future of the game” .
The 33-year old felt that World Rugby had not taken on board a number of “important points we raised…in November”.
The proposed competition would have had 11 “regular season matches” per year, with Sexton claiming World Rugby were forgetting about welfare.
He believed that “the issue of player load has never been so topical, however, it needs to be properly understood.
“To suggest that players can play five incredibly high-level test matches in consecutive weeks in November is out of touch and shows little understanding of the physical stain this brings.”
World Rugby admitted the proposal had been worked around a 12-year guarantee from a sports marketing agency to pump in over €6 billion.
Speaking following the announcement to scrap the competition, Chair of the governing body, Sir Bill Beaumont said:
“We are naturally disappointed that a unanimous position on the Nations Championship could not be achieved among our unions, we remain fully committed to exploring alternative ways to enhance the meaning, value and opportunity of international rugby .”
Written by Ben Finnegan
