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Springbok World Cup winning head coach Jake White has made a radical alternative suggestion to World Rugby’s derided ‘Nations Championship’.
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White has protested over the current proposal and says “for the sake of rugby’s integrity, we can’t have the top teams playing each other every year”.
On Monday Premiership Rugby and the LNR issued a withering statement over the proposed shake-up of the international calendar and White has become the latest voice of criticism.
Writing in his column for alloutrugby.com White cited cricket having three formats of the game, each with World champions and feels that the World League proposal would water things down for rugby too.
“In cricket, you’ve got the T20 cricket champions, the ODI champions and the Test cricket champions – so, who are the cricket champions of the world?
“Do we really want to be discussing the same question in rugby when we’ve got the World League champions, the Rugby Championship champions, the Six Nations champions and the Rugby World Cup champions?
Instead he has called for a return a return to longer tours from individual nations such as the All Blacks, Australia, South Africa, Ireland England and Wales, along with the British & Irish Lions.
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Watch: The Rugby Pod discuss the World League
“Having coached in South Africa, Australia, France and Japan, I’m of the view that what global rugby really needs is for the teams just outside the top six to be developed into genuine contenders,” he said.
“What ever happened to letting those nations play against each other more often and then measuring their progress at the World Cup? There must be other ways to generate revenue than selling off mini world cups to broadcasters.
“Why not launch a World League that features Scotland, France, Fiji, Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Tonga, Italy, the USA and Samoa, and then have the top six teams in the world tour each other on an alternating basis?
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“Maybe one year the Springboks tour Wales while Ireland hosts the All Blacks and the Wallabies visit England. And then the following season, Ireland tours South Africa while Australia hosts Wales and England visit New Zealand.
Watch: The Short Ball discuss World Rugby’s proposed Nations Championship