New trophy planned for major Test nations
PLANS are being discussed to make Tests from the autumn and summer widows count towards a trophy.
Currently, when northern hemisphere teams face those from the south in November and July there is nothing riding on the matches other than World Rugby rankings and pride.
The intention is to make games outside the Six Nations, Rugby Championship and World Cup more meaningful.
WRU chief executive Steve Phillips insists change is on the horizon. He told The Rugby Paper: “The feeling worldwide is we need to be maintaining both July and November (windows) – everybody who is in the conversation agrees on that.
“Fans, broadcsters and the media all want a competition. There are a lot of clever people working on this.”
Phillips continued: “We are due to go to South Africa to play three Tests next year. Now we might find we have to go and play in different places in the way the SANZAAR nations do with us.
“The driver is to use the July and November windows and amalgamate them to form one competition.
“Everybody wants a competition and everybody wants a winner.
“You might play three matches in July and they would count towards something. It would probably be on an away basis for us and then come the November, we’d be at home.
“Ideally by the end of next November, Wales will have won this marvellous new competition!”
This isn’t the first time World Rugby have attempted such a move with its controversial Nations Championship falling through two years ago due to a lack of consensus on key issues.
Meanwhile Phillips has come under fire from followers of the four Welsh regions who feel the sides are not being supported well enough financially by the WRU.
Talks have resurfaced of a model in Wales where two of the four regions would be funded to a level where they can compete in the latter stages of competitions with the other two potentially treading water. Phillips hasn’t ruled out such a scenario.
“That will be a conversation to be had at professional rugby board level,” he said.
“I don’t have the authority to do that myself. The overall funding is agreed by the WRU and the regions via the PRB and we have an agreed model of how that money is split per region.
“We are always reviewing our policies, but if you are asking me if we go with a preferred region to chase honours, then that is something the PRB will have to agree to.
“This is all about being sustainable and successful. The easiest thing in the world is to be successful tomorrow and then not sustainable the week after.”