Red Rose roadshow

THE RFU are exploring the option of playing England games away from their Twickenham fortress despite having just invested £55m on a new corporate hospitality facility.

Councillors were told at their last meeting that the union want to make watching England more accessible to other regions. However, commercial necessities mean all Six Nations home games and the autumn Tests will remain at Twickenham.

Warm-up matches before next year’s World Cup are the most likely to be held outside London but England v Barbarians in May could also go on the road. An RFU spokeswoman said: ‘It is difficult to take the Six Nations or the autumn internationals away from Twickenham as we depend on the revenue. But if an opportunity arises to stage other games elsewhere, we will not rule it out.’

DISGRACED former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is supporting outsiders Morocco to host the 2026 World Cup rather than triple hosts USA, Canada and Mexico. Blatter’s backing is a double-edged sword for Morocco, who are not officially commenting.