Strewthcobber
Phil Kearns (64)
The way this thing pays for itself is $$$ from interest in UK and France.
Nations Championship
- Thread starter waiopehu oldboy
- Start date
Major Tom
Peter Fenwicke (45)
I mean what does the winner get? England getting home field advantage if they make it there.
I don't have a problem if nations pay to host it.
waiopehu oldboy
Rocky Elsom (76)
RFU own Twickenham so would presumably collect a fee from the organisers for hosting regardless of whether Ringinland qualify.
OTOH Wembley holds more (90K v 82 per Google) so maybe organisers will look there instead (or at least use that as a bargaining tool with RFU).
OTOH Wembley holds more (90K v 82 per Google) so maybe organisers will look there instead (or at least use that as a bargaining tool with RFU).
Last edited:
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
There's the sponsorship rights of £80m ($162m). We're up for 10% of that over the first editions. Apparently there's also revenue sharing or there was revenue sharing on the table. So you're probably pretty close.
Mr Pilfer
Bill McLean (32)
Wasn’t there talk of somewhere in the Middle East wanting to host the 2028 finals series?
This link has more info around the “nations cup” - the second division. I also read another article suggesting promotion/relegation may start from 2030, that would add some spice to it!
www.world.rugby
This link has more info around the “nations cup” - the second division. I also read another article suggesting promotion/relegation may start from 2030, that would add some spice to it!
World Rugby Nations Cup to launch in July 2026 to transform international calendar | World Rugby
World Rugby has confirmed that the preparations for the World Rugby Nations Cup are advancing at pace, with 11 of the 12 teams now confirmed for a competition that will kick-off in 2026 and provide important preparation for unions qualified for an expanded Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.
www.world.rugby
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Qatar offered £800m to host the first 4 finals. Caused a whole lot of reaction from fans and pundits.Wasn’t there talk of somewhere in the Middle East wanting to host the 2028 finals series?
This link has more info around the “nations cup” - the second division. I also read another article suggesting promotion/relegation may start from 2030, that would add some spice to it!
World Rugby Nations Cup to launch in July 2026 to transform international calendar | World Rugby
World Rugby has confirmed that the preparations for the World Rugby Nations Cup are advancing at pace, with 11 of the 12 teams now confirmed for a competition that will kick-off in 2026 and provide important preparation for unions qualified for an expanded Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.
Omar Comin'
Peter Fenwicke (45)
Wasn’t there talk of somewhere in the Middle East wanting to host the 2028 finals series?
This link has more info around the “nations cup” - the second division. I also read another article suggesting promotion/relegation may start from 2030, that would add some spice to it!
World Rugby Nations Cup to launch in July 2026 to transform international calendar | World Rugby
World Rugby has confirmed that the preparations for the World Rugby Nations Cup are advancing at pace, with 11 of the 12 teams now confirmed for a competition that will kick-off in 2026 and provide important preparation for unions qualified for an expanded Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.
It'll be interesting to see if the promotion/relegation is only for the invitational teams, or if the 6 Nations and Rugby Championship unions will accept the possibility of being relegated. I'd personally like to see 1 guaranteed promotion/relegation between the divisions and a playoff for a potential 2nd to add to the jeopardy and make the whole structure more dynamic.
If it's just 12 v 13 in a playoff then that's a huge advantage to the team who's played their whole test season against the stronger teams, and it will be rare to see any actual promotion/relegation.
Strewthcobber
Phil Kearns (64)
Absolutely zero chance that this ever happens
Wilson
David Wilson (68)
If you want open relegation, the only chance it ever happens is with the 12 v 13 playoff (or maybe the bottom two from each hemisphere playing off against perspective qualifiers from the same hemisphere). Even that is a hard ask, but I don't see anyone with a say in ever agreeing to an automatic relegation. The last thing those teams at the top want is a particularly dynamic structure, and even the ones not at any real risk of relegation would be worried about the destabilizing effect on Six Nations/Rugby Champs from having one of the core teams relegated.
Strewthcobber
Phil Kearns (64)
It's joint owned by SANZAAR and Six Nations. They probably wouldn't even be able to agree to a possibility of one of their members not being part of it even if they wanted to
Wilson
David Wilson (68)
Theoretically they could, with that relegated member still taking a (possibly reduced) share of the profits. I'm sure that would go down well with all parties...
Major Tom
Peter Fenwicke (45)
What the southern hemisphere teams could do with that money!
Strewthcobber
Phil Kearns (64)
Scotland, Italy and Australia
would veto any talk of it
Wilson
David Wilson (68)
I think Wales would be right there with themScotland, Italy and Australia
The Ghost of Raelene
Tim Horan (67)
At this point I think Wales might like the idea of winning the lower comp.
Major Tom
Peter Fenwicke (45)
Straight into the future fund thanks very much.
Omar Comin'
Peter Fenwicke (45)
How would it destabilise the 6N/RC? They are entirely separate to the Nations Championship.
It would be a farce if Japan and Fiji both finish higher than 12th yet one of them still gets relegated. It would ruin the credibility of the tournament. If the 10 primary tier 1 unions own it equally then they would all still get their cut of the profits (of the top tier) even if in the 2nd division.
Last edited:
Wilson
David Wilson (68)
If one of those nations ends up in some degree of financial jeopardy as a result of relegation or were no longer seen as competitive it would necessarily destabilise those competitions. I don't think anyone here is necessarily arguing that there shouldn't be promotion/relegation, just that it's incredibly unlikely to ever happen in an open and balanced way, at least in the near term.
Hell, I'm not even sure the Rugby Championship/Six Nations sides will be too keen on Japan and Fiji being up for relegation - maybe some countries like USA or Samoa would be okay swaps, but none of the outside teams would bring in the same level of commercial opportunity or interest as Japan and Fiji. I definitely can't see the Rugby Champs side being happy about a side like Georgia potentially replacing one of them, not when they're increasingly looking to financial opportunities in Japan and integrating Fiji into comps like Super. They may still be willing to take the risk, but definitely not without a play off that stacks the deck somewhat in favour of maintaining the status quo.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
I suspect they'll either make it for the invitational teams or they'll look to expand the 1st Div to 16 teams and have the bottom two up for relegation.