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In a reoccurring push from rugby’s traditional elites, World Rugby is planning to push ahead with an inter-hemispheric competition every two years. What was once presented as the Nations Championship is back as a World League.
Writing for the Telegraph, Gavin Mairs notes that the competition, to be held every two years, will be centered on Six Nations and Rugby Championship teams. Mairs writes that the organizers of the Six Nations (France, England, Ireland, Wales, Italy, Scotland) and Rugby Championship (Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) competitions have agreed to the creation of the World League.
The World League will see South Africa remaining in the Rugby Championship and no expansion nor alteration to the Six Nations. The same teams will retain their status and there will not be promotion or relegation. In other words, Georgia remains in no-mans-land.
The World League will debut in 2026. it is positioned by design to protect Lions tours. The British & Irish Lions have shown no interest in new frontiers. Previous attempts from Argentina to secure a match were turned down. The tours will continue on rotational basis to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The plans also mean that any hopes for genuine Rugby World Rugby Qualifiers are over. Having a European Championship with 8 or 10 participants, an Oceania Cup involving Japan and the five RWC participants or an Americas Rugby Championship doubling as RWC qualifiers could be highly successful. That is to say that there is big money to be made from such projects.
WORLD LEAGUE PLANS
The World League is to take place in four windows. (I) Six Nations, (II) July Internationals, (III) Rugby Championship, (IV) November Internationals.
The competition is to debut in 2026 with the Six Nations being joined by six from outside of Europe. They are the four Rugby Championship competitors and Fiji and Japan. The Asian side would be considered as Southern Hemisphere.
The six European teams will play three non-European opponents away in July. This will end tours such as Scotland’s three test tour to Argentina in July 2022. In its place Scotland may play Argentina, South Africa and Japan once each while France may face Australia, Fiji and New Zealand.
The November Internationals will see home matches for the Six Nations teams against opposition from the six teams grouped together as the Southern Hemisphere. The teams will be organized in pools with the top side from each facing-off in a grand final and the others in play-off’s. Hong Kong is a possible venue for what would be a neutral final.
Teams will rotate to face each other at different times during the two-year cycle. The 2026 and 2028 editions will be strictly locked. This means that the hosts of Rugby World Cup 2031, the USA, will not be able to play matches against Tier 1 opposition.
Mairs notes that there is a possibility for a second tier competition to include promotion and relegation beginning in 2030. Based on current rankings the twelve second division of twelve teams would be Canada, Chile, Uruguay, USA, Namibia, Hong Kong, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Samoa and Tonga.
STATUS QUO UPHELD
World Rugby argue that the Rugby World Cup will go on without being diminished in importance. The World League will be labeled as the battle of the Hemispheres while Lions tours and World Cups will continue in exciting slots.
Lions tours will coincide with other tours that follow the contemporary model of three test matches against one opponent. The World League is a project by and for the traditionals. It is a Home Union vision to protect the Six Nations from expansion while preventing a European championship and continuing Lions tours to the same destinations.
AMERICAS LOSE OUT
It is a lose-lose for the Americas. Neither Canada nor the USA will return to hosting a Six Nations opponent in the mid-year windows. They will miss out on playing these teams both at home or away. It is a hammer blow to both after having missed out on qualifying for RWC 2023.
Uruguay will not have the opportunity of playing Six Nations teams either. There will be no room for a South American Tri Nations against RWC competitors Argentina and Chile nor for an Americas Rugby Championship.
Forget about Wales facing Los Teros in Montevideo during a tour to Argentina. Instead, Uruguay’s three matches against Romania in 2022 are instances of what to expect in the coming years. Away matches against Georgia, Portugal and Spain in November are possible but games against Six Nations sides will only be at World Cups.
RWC debutants, Chile will be play Argentina, England and Japan at RWC 2023. Los Cóndores will not play a comparative fixture between then and RWC 2027.
Argentina will be a hot commodity. Los Pumas will be locked into the World League and thus miss out on new opportunities comparative to facing Romania in Bucharest in 2021 and Spain in Madrid in 2023.
