Money talks as World Rugby plans inch closer
World Rugby is reported to have settled on a preferred option for a proposed new league of nations that will radically shake up the international calendar.
The Daily Telegraph in Australia has reported that, while the proposal is still in its early stages and has to undergo a feasibility study prior to approval, the sport’s leading nations have reached consensus on a preferred model.
If the concept is approved, the top 12 nations will all play each other once a year, with the top four going into a playoff system to decide an annual champion.
There is potential for the national unions to increase their revenue streams, something that is likely to be music to the ears of New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew, who said in late August that his organisation spends more money each year than it makes.
Thirty-six per cent of New Zealand Rugby’s expenditure is gobbled up by players’ salaries.
‘‘We [NZR] continue to spend on average between $5 [million] and $7 million a year more than we earn,’’ Tew revealed.
‘‘So if that 36 per cent is under pressure because of the price of players in the international market, that continues to escalate with no real science behind it, other than just these very wealthy club owners wanting to have the best team, then that’s a pressure point.’’ World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said a fresh programme has the potential to help rake in more money for the international game.
‘‘The more meaningful those games are, the more likely they are to generate broadcast revenue, so we’re doing an exercise in the viability of a broadcast uplift in those fixtures,’’ Gosper told the Daily Telegraph.
‘‘It just makes sense and it would seem to be the time to do this, and there’s a consensus and a desire to try and do that.
‘‘It’s not just Australia, everyone can do with more revenue in this area. The sport deserves to get the value it can get for those fixtures.’’
Under the preferred format, the top six teams from the northern and southern hemispheres would have to play each other each year, with results counting for the 12-team league.
The Rugby Championship and the Six Nations would both double for the league, while the crossover matches would take place in the July and November windows.