Calendar change has appeal

Ian Foster favours change. All Blacks assistant coach for now, Foster looms as an obvious candidate for the top job, assuming incumbent Steve Hansen does walk away when his contract expires in February 2020.

That’s also when test rugby might take on a rather different look, with tweaks to tournament windows and the apparent potential for a 12-team world league among the initiatives already being discussed in high places.

Those talks were conducted in Sydney yesterday, with World Rugby’s various committees meeting to discuss the global future of the game, alongside the Rugby World Cup board.

Foster certainly applauds the efforts of all concerned, having read reports about a world league from Buenos Aires.

The June test window has made life difficult for the All Blacks coaches, and in turn their New Zealand colleagues in Super Rugby. Test revenue is also a big deal for New Zealand Rugby who have a drawcard team in the All Blacks, but don’t get rich from taking them on tour.

World Rugby vice-chairman Agustin Pichot has been particularly vocal about how the international game must evolve, and pay its way, or face the likelihood of ‘‘ruin’’.

No-one wants that, least of all the man who might be the next All Blacks head coach.

‘‘We’ve been reasonably busy doing something else, so I haven’t put a lot of thought into it, but I do know there’s a lot of thought going into post-2020 and I think it’s great that World Rugby, and people within World Rugby, are tossing some ideas out there about how to re-shape our international game. Everyone’s got a clean slate after 2020 and I know from our perspective, we’re pretty keen to look at any different ideas out there,’’ Foster said.

National pride, and the fear of failure, tend to be enough to inspire the All Blacks most weeks, but World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper has talked about having more test matches that matter.

‘‘At the moment 56 per cent of the games in international rugby in the world are friendlies. That’s what we’re looking at and maybe swinging it back towards more meaningful, competitive games and that may be with interaction between north and south,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s a number of models out there but ultimately [a north vs south competition] would help add more meaning to a Six Nations or a [Rugby] Championship.’’

‘‘At the moment 56 per cent of the games in international rugby in the world are friendlies.’’