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England could host 'festival of rugby' featuring the champions and hosts of last year's RWC - but no All Blacks

By Online Editors
Herschel Jantjies on the break for South Africa against Japan. (Photo by Koki Nagahama/Getty Images)

The Springboks and Japan could be involved in a unique tournament in England in November.

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A proposed ‘festival of rugby’ tournament is one of the options being put forward if the scheduled end-of-year internationals cannot go ahead.

According to the Daily Mail, the Six Nations teams could be joined by world champions South Africa and Japan in London in a one-off event to help boost Rugby Union’s finances which have taken a knock due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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England coach Eddie Jones appears as a guest on The Breakdown.

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England coach Eddie Jones appears as a guest on The Breakdown.

The tournament could be structured with two pools of four countries, “with the possibility of round-robin fixtures and a final taking place at Twickenham”.

After last year’s successful World Cup, there’s plenty of talk regarding whether Japan’s future lies with the European powerhouses in the Six Nations or with the four Rugby Championship nations.

There’s also been plenty of talk throughout recent history concerning South Africa’s place in the Rugby Championship as well as Super Rugby, given the geographical challenges.

The other option being considered if the normal end-of-year Tests cannot happen is a home and away Six Nations which would start in November and be continued in February and March.

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Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney said contingency plans are being drawn up for any eventuality.

“There’s another option of possibly bringing in additional invitational sides,” said Sweeney.

“It’s an opportunity to be creative and maybe create some type of festival of rugby.”

The so-called festival of rugby could give fans a glimpse of what the future of the traditional Northern Hemisphere competition could look like – but it leaves New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and the Pacific Island sides on the outer.

The All Blacks and Wallabies are set to contest a four-match Bledisloe Cup series later in the year but Argentina will be lacking in serious competition for the remainder of 2020.

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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