Twickenham possible venue for Scotland’s Six Nations finale v Wales
● Welsh union attracted by possibility of having 40,000 at rescheduled match
The Scottish Rugby Union insists matters are up for negotiation after reports emerged that the outstanding 2020 Six Nations fixture away to Wales could be held in London on 31 October.
The plan is being put forward as a revamped end to the year’s international calendar, which has been plunged into chaos by the Covid-19 pandemic.
There are hopes that Twickenham could accommodate 40,000 spectators now that social distancing has been reduced to one metre. The cash-strapped Welsh Rugby Union is facing a £50 million loss with the Principality’s government resisting any crowds at mass sporting events until next year.
The proposal would form part of an English RFU plan for a “festival of rugby” to finish off the year, with the Six Nations joined by guest teams Japan and Fiji.
Full plans are yet to emerge but the RFU is reported to be viewing eight Test matches at Twickenham (with Wales playing a further three Tests in the English capital) over a fiveweek international window, with a “final” to the mini-tournament taking place on the first weekend of December.
Scotland were due to play Japan, Argentina and New Zealand in November, but it is unlikely the latter two will travel to the UK with plans to resume the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship in October and November. The plan will be discussed by World Rugby this week before going to the Council for a vote next week.
The London Stadium has also been suggested as a proposed venue for the Wales v Scotland match, which was due to be held on 14 March but called off on the eve of the matchasthecoronaviruscrisis deepened. Other outstanding Six Nations matches include Italy v England, Ireland v Italy and France v Ireland.
After recovering their Six Nations campaign with wins in Italy and at home to France, Scotland headed for Cardiff knowing a win would take them to the top of the table with the other two “Super Saturday” games already called off. The Wales-scotland game suffered the same fate 24 hours before kick-off. No rugby has been played since.
The World Rugby meetings this week will also enter into the torturous issue of the global calendar.
The SRU has predicted a £40m hit if the November series cannot take place but are growing hopeful that fans can start to be introduced to BT Murrayfield under restrictions, starting with the Guinness Pro14 restart doubleheader between Edinburgh and Glasgow on 22 and 29 August. Talks with the Scottish Government are ongoing.
Meanwhile, former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is convinced that World Rugby wouldn’t have the courage to kick New Zealand out of World Cup tournaments if they broke ranks and scheduled their own Test matches.
New Zealand was one of the first countries to get back up and running with a domestic Super Rugby competition after successfully containing the virus, but still face the same financial challenges as the rest of the global game. Hansen, who led New Zealand to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, is frustrated by the hold-up to the global calendar, blaming English and French clubs.
NZ Rugby could opt to go it alone and send out its own invites to play the All Blacks.
He told a Kiwi website: “You [NZ Rugby] turn around and say ‘World Rugby won’t dictate who we have to play, other than maybe a tier-two nation’.
“You arrange your own Test matches. It would sort out who is doing what – because if England wanted to play us, they would play. They do that now, when it is outside World Rugby-appointed Test matches.
“I will put it to you this way. Do you think World Rugby would like to have a World Cup without the All Blacks in it?”
The Irish RFU has said supporters will now be entitled to refunds for the postponed Six Nations match against Italy in Dublin as the rescheduled game is set to be played behind closed doors, or in front of reduced crowds.
No refunds were initially offered with the ticket valid for the rescheduled game.