Is it time to do away with the 6N and the 4N, the June and November tests?

First topic message reminder :

On another thread, someone made a comment that familiarity breeds contempt and that playing someone year in year out gets a bit stale. Bledisloe Cup matches I must admit have become a bit like that. In recent times we have played Australia 4 times. You only need to ask a fan from Wales that that's an overkill!

The 4N and the 3N before it made the possibility of touring South Africa for a traditional 3 match series an impossibility. The one-off tests at the end of the year in November have their supporters but they have their fair share of critics, myself included.

What if rugby went down the road of sevens and cricket and introduced a global circuit of test matches that all went to moving towards your rankings in a World Cup year and determined your qualification for said tournament? What if every year instead of the 4N and 6N we had teams playing three tests at home and away against all the nations involved in rugby. Let's say Australia played Kenya and NZ played Georgia and England played Japan. Teams could decide which players they sent (to develop younger or promising players) and rest their stars for the important tours.

Personally I'd much prefer to see three test tours with warm up matches against clubs or composite sides and my national tea, travelling to all parts of the globe instead of returning to the same familiar faces and places. The distribution of the ranking points would probably reflect a more honest place of a team in the world rugby hierarchy and rugby would be making a serious attempt at being a global sport and developing the game outside the top ranked teams instead of paying lip service to that idea.

What say you?

Sir biggles beautiful post. Gave me a right chuckle. Sadly when you consider the majority of Manu Samoa come from New Zealand born players for example.

You're right about one thing old boy. We really should be trying to tap into the lucrative markets of Russia the us and Japan. I'd like nz to send developmental or youth sides with a mix of senior players to play tests in these countries. Give the game some exposure there, generate revenue and allow fewer if these pointless tests that count for little other than filling the coffers.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Sir biggles beautiful post. Gave me a right chuckle. Sadly when you consider the majority of Manu Samoa come from New Zealand born players for example.

You're right about one thing old boy. We really should be trying to tap into the lucrative markets of Russia the us and Japan. I'd like nz to send developmental or youth sides with a mix of senior players to play tests in these countries. Give the game some exposure there, generate revenue and allow fewer if these pointless tests that count for little other than filling the coffers.

It wouldn't generate revenue, there is little or no interest in the sport in these countries. I would rather fill my coffer than flush its contents down the bog.

Is a New Zealander who decides to play for Samoa, still considered a New Zealander ?

In a rugby sense, the fact they are banished and have to come North to find a professional contract suggests not, although presumably on a NZ passport.

Faletau and Tuilagi are examples of that process.

Didn't Tuilagi move to England when he was 9? Can't have been that optimistic about his ability.

Is Sean maitland a New Zealander? Last time I checked...

Did he get a flight halfway around the world, on his own at the age of nine ? Very impressive.

Be careful where you go with that line Kia.......

All nz rugby players to play for the national side are New Zealand residents and play their rugby in nz. No need to be careful around that point.

Your point could though be interpreted differently.

Recwatcher wrote:Is a New Zealander who decides to play for Samoa, still considered a New Zealander ?

In a rugby sense, the fact they are banished and have to come North to find a professional contract suggests not, although presumably on a NZ passport.

Faletau and Tuilagi are examples of that process.

Total BULL....

Faletau was born in Tofua, Tonga. His father Kuli Faletau represented the Tonga national rugby union team as a lock and appeared in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Kuli moved to Wales in 1998 to join Ebbw Vale, taking his 7-year old son with him.[1] Toby attended Trevethin Community School, graduating in 2007 among the last year to graduate at the secondary school. He then attended South Gloucestershire and Stroud College as part of the college's successful rugby academy and received player of the year during his time at the college.... Wiki


Faletau is not a New Zealander through birth or parentage or even residency. He could have a claim to Tonga, and I believe although not noted here, his grand parents reside (not sure if they are nationals) in Samoa, as the news, last AI when we played Samoa, made a big thing about his birth around the time Western Samoa (as was) beat Wales in the RWC 1999.

But as he moved to Wales at the young age of 7 and been resident here (in the UK) since, predomintatly in Wales, then he is Welsh in the IRB eyes (ruling).

Never in a billion years would I want to see the six nations scrapped, only a Southern Hemisphere person could say that, do you realise the history and meaning this tournament has to us Northerners ? What I would not mind seeing though is the six nations moved to the end of the season, a sort of climax to it all played and supported in half decent weather, the fact that it is shoe horned in between the regular season leagues and HC competitions sort of devalues them, but if anybody comes up with the idea of scrapping the six nations again we should take them to the nearest torture chamber and stick needles up under the fingernails until they see thing the Northern Hemisphere way.


Only joking, about the torture that is.

On the clear basis that rugby is now big business i would say bin RWC, NZ left it 30 plus million in the red and any legacy about spreading the game far and wide at 2015 is fast being swept away by the big football clubs refusing to allow their grounds ot be used. it will be a London and Cardiff based competition.

I think you need to stuff about the RWC more carefully. I understand that...
The country hosting the RWC makes lots of money out of it.
The IRB makes lots of money out of it.
The rugby union hosting the RWC struggles to make much money because of the $ it has to pay the IRB.

In our case NZ made lots of money and the NZRFU lost some money but it was supported the Government (so the country could make lots of money). The IRB made 90 millionpounds out of it.