World Club Cup closer than ever
A WORLD Club Cup pitching the best of the northern and southern hemisphere sides together is set to be played in June 2028.
The prospect of the likes of Leinster, Saracens and Toulouse facing Hurricanes, Chiefs and the rest has moved dramatically closer with a new agreement in place.
It is understood European rugby bosses have signed a memorandum of understanding with their counterparts down under to get the deal underway.
And it is also understood the French Top 14, the URC and the Premiership have agreed to move their finals to May to make way for the new tournament which will be played every four years.
Shifting the finals is a massive concession from the domestic rulers, with France normally playing their showpiece game at the end of June.
This year the
Premiership is on 8 June, the URC one is on 22 June and the Top 14 finale is on 28 June.
The Champions Cup will run as normal until the quarter-finals where European teams will be diverted into the new tournament so there will be no Champions Cup winner that year.
Instead, the eight clubs will be drawn against the top six Super Rugby sides with two from Japan set to be added. Eight clubs it from the last 16, will be play in a Super Challenge Cup.
The French are understood to have been keen on the four-yearly tournament at a meeting in Toulouse in November.
A source said: “Those weekends need to go somewhere. That is a big thing for France. The
French have been very protective of their Top 14 final but there is a desire to do something different every four years. We are really motoring on that.”
The 2028 version will be played in the northern hemisphere and organisers are open to taking it down south in 2032.