World Rugby struggling to plan for sport’s resumption

World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont admits planning the return of international competition is difficult with countries experiencing varying stages of the coronavirus pandemic and holding different strategies.

The summer tour season in July looks set to be wiped out and the Scottish Rugby Union

recently admitted there was “developing uncertainty” over the fate of their November Test schedule at BT Murrayfield.

The Guinness Six Nations is unfinished while the southern hemisphere’s Rugby Championship is due to take place in August and September, but the fate of domestic leagues and European competitions is also uncertain.

Beaumont pledged to get

straight to work on dealing with the coronavirus crisis after being re-elected for a second four-year term but he added: “We don’t know when we are going to come out of it. Some countries are coming out of it quicker than others.

“We still have to plan the international games, the domestic games, and already you can see there is difference of opinions from country to

country whereby last week the French government said there would be no sport played at all until 1 September , and in the UK there is still a desire to get some club games started before then.

“So you can imagine what that is like for us when we are trying to put international matches together.

“Everything at the moment is scenario planning: what if,

what if, what if. You don’t know if there’s going to be any interhemisphere travel at all this year.

“Youdon’tknowwhetheryou can start behind closed doors, we don’t know when that will be. That will vary from country to country.

“It’s extremely difficult to put a marker down and say we will start now and conclude competitions.”