Club World Cup gathers pace

ENGLISH rugby’s top sides are moving closer to taking part in a Club World Cup as plans to align teams from both hemispheres into a new global tournament gather pace. World Rugby and the game’s governing bodies are in talks over a new global calendar for after the 2023 World Cup and, asked if he was optimistic about plans for a Club World Cup coming to fruition, Premiership chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor told Sportsmail: ‘Yes. It’s a project which is moving forwards. It would be brilliant to officially answer who is the best club team in the world. ‘It’s an exciting innovation we could see in the next few years. ‘I see the value in it but we’re still in the process of finding out what the format would be. Everything is on the table and there are no real deal-breakers.’ The proposed tournament would not affect the European Champions Cup, and private equity firm CVC — who have a stake in the Six Nations, Premiership and URC — are thought to be keen on the idea. The earliest the competition could happen is 2024 and Sportsmail understands there is genuine belief that the proposal will get off the ground. Elsewhere, Spain have been ejected from next year’s World Cup after being found guilty of fielding a player whose passport was forged. Ineligible South African prop Gavin van den Berg played twice for Spain. It is the second time they have been banned for fielding an ineligible player.