Sanzaar & Six Nations teams in talks for global calendar

So the money grab has started. Don't be fooled it is all about money and not player welfare.

NH Rugby is perfect, played in all weathers as rugby should be, its allows teams to play with different styles.

Maybe the SH need to move their season? Just a thought.
But lets be honest we all know how this will end. Good man Bill but he knows nothing will change and the status quo will continue.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/52748603

Some classics in the comments section.

BBC attracts some higher class rugby fans.

TightHEAD wrote:Some classics in the comments section.

BBC attracts some higher class rugby fans.

Wonder which iteration of Hersh they’re on there. Hersh, Victor, Scrumpy or one more, I can’t quite recall.

I just had a look at the BBC comments, after the first 50 comments I was going to sleep

So from a NH perspective how would you guys prefer a global test season?

Rugby championship should be run in the same international window as the 6 nations. Not bothered when that is.

How about Oct-Nov?

Fine by me. I'm really not fussed on timings. Did always prefer standing in the sun for league games so wouldn't be adverse at avoiding the winter here for the league games.

How do you percieve the rest of the international calendar?

RiscaGame wrote:

TightHEAD wrote:Some classics in the comments section.

BBC attracts some higher class rugby fans.

Wonder which iteration of Hersh they’re on there. Hersh, Victor, Scrumpy or one more, I can’t quite recall.

As deluded as 7.5.

Parity is the key old man. I dont particularly like coming off a whole season and travelling for the summer tours. I'd rather have a whole block of international s in the middle of the season.

I would prefer that as well, So how long should this test block be and when does it run?

And that's what makes it a challenge. Needs clubs agreement. This enforced break does open the door though.

Oh, well. Bored in lock down, so I decided to sit on the gazeebo with a Douwe Egberts and dust the old laptop down and jump on the net, I have come on here and the same old members are still at it.

All this talk of a global calendar has been bandied about for years, the reasons it will not happen is because the SH wants the NH to align with theirs, but the money is up here in the NH and the unions and rich clubs will not pander to SANZAR. That's just the crux of it all, I am sure there are lots of other sub plots with it all as well.

If the NH aligns it's season with the SH then NH rugby would take a massive financial hit. Look, I would like nothing better than to go down to the Wern and watch my team play in the sun, but financially it would be suicide.

Anyone ever wonder why the 6N is during late winter early spring ? It's because it does not have to compete with any other major annual sporting event at that time, no football cup finals, no Wimbledon, no Grand National ect....

Playing the 6N during the start of the year makes it the prime sporting event at that time of year. That's why it's so lucrative to the unions involved.

I'm all for a global season, it would even the playing field for international rugby. But it would only work if the SH aligned with the NH, not the other way around.

It could work either way to be fair. I was for Pichots option of having everything on the table: Beaumont has said he doesnt want the 6 nations moved but is pushing for a global calendar and nations league.

If money is an issue simply sell the 6 nations rights to the highest bidder.

No 7&1/2 wrote:It could work either way to be fair. I was for Pichots option of having everything on the table: Beaumont has said he doesnt want the 6 nations moved but is pushing for a global calendar and nations league.

A nations league is a terrible idea.

No 7&1/2 wrote:If money is an issue simply sell the 6 nations rights to the highest bidder.

Yep, that's what they do. Don't they ?

I like the idea personally. Offers the smaller teams more chance to play the traditional big uns. Spreads the wealth and offers another title/bragging rights.

I don't think the 6 nations have sold to the highest bidder in the past. I can't imagine that itv or the beeb would offer or be able to offer more than sky, bt etc.

No 7&1/2 wrote:I like the idea personally. Offers the smaller teams more chance to play the traditional big uns.  Spreads the wealth and offers another title/bragging rights.

I don't think the 6 nations have sold to the highest bidder in the past. I can't imagine that itv or the beeb would offer or be able to offer more than sky, bt etc.

Ah, I did not know you were talking about TV rights, I thought you were talking about Sponsorship, RBS. I do not think they can sell the rights to SKY, as Wales home matches for the 6N are protected and have to be on terrestrial TV. I think.

Also, the thing you have with the nations league, will mean less money. Also, something would have to give to make it work, how would you fit the 6N in with a world league ? The 6N is the cash cow of the NH. Also, the 6N is not a home and away based competition, not unless you spread the league over two years.

Who would be in this league ? How would it work ?

If it was done like the International football, then we would potentially lose some mouthwatering and money spinning tests. International football has 4 leagues, A,B,C,D. They are then split into groups of mini leagues, where three teams play each other home and away. Only the teams in the A groups, from league A can win the nations league, the rest are all playing to get promoted to the next league up.

If this were to happen, then we could potentially see one of our countries without a money spinner against New Zealand or South Africa. How many teams would be involved ? How many games would it need ?

If the 6N were to be used as part of it, then that's one group, you would then need to play it again the other way around to complete the group, would that be at the cost of the AI's or the summer tours ? How would that help the lesser nations ? What about world cup years and Lions years ?

It's a terrible idea. I admit, there is a massive problem with funding the game in Australia and New Zealand, and the Pacific Island nations, but why should that fall at the feet of the countries who are working hard to get things right ?

Sponsorship I dont know. Without the main player of football about theres a chance it could fill a gap for a few sponsors. Sure it's been touched upon before here but the 6 nations live rights are not protected and thus dont need to be on terrestrial.

Format is up for debate but both hitters in Beaumont and pichot campaigned for it and Beaumont has won and it's one of his key pledges. Clubs seem very open to it as well. It's going to happen (finally).

No 7&1/2 wrote:Format is up for debate but both hitters in Beaumont and pichot campaigned for it and Beaumont has won and it's one of his key pledges. Clubs seem very open to it as well. It's going to happen (finally).

They are up for a global season, I do not know about this nations league though, I have not seen any endorsements from the clubs regarding that. But a global season, yes, as they would always have access to their overseas players.

And I am sure the Wales home games for the 6N's are always to be shown on our Welsh speaking channel S4C.

The murmurs from the clubs when Pichot was bringing it up were positive. Let's face it the french and english clubs now have a lot of sway. Perhaps this pandemic has weakened them though. Hard to tell.

Nope, no 6 nations games have to be shown on live tv.

It doesn't look like it's the case that Wales games will be protected (if they were).

I would be interested to see what would happen with S4C in that case, although I am sure Sky/Amazon or whoever could make a case for offering Welsh commentary.

No 7&1/2 wrote:The murmurs from the clubs when Pichot was bringing it up were positive. Let's face it the french and english clubs now have a lot of sway. Perhaps this pandemic has weakened them though. Hard to tell.

Nope, no 6 nations games have to be shown on live tv.

Here it is, it didn't take me long, until 2021 OFCOM have granted exclusive rights to terrestrial TV.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-3/listed-events-six-nations-rugby-union-championship

Yes that's the current deal until next year..apologies I thought we were discussing the next tv deal after that.

We are talking about next year though, aren't we ? That's when WR wants to change things.

Anyway, looking at that, it's not down to the organisers of the competition, the TV companies have to put their cases forward to OFCOM and they decide which is the viable choice for the good of the nation.

I merely said sell the rights to the highest bidder. Sorry I should have said sell the rights when they became available to highest bidder.didnt this k I'd have to though! From 2022 sky or bt sports could get them if the unions/6 nations wanted to do so.

So the plan seems to be to move the 6Ns (and a new 6 team SH tournament) to April/May, then start the club season with a second international window in the NH autumn.

Unlikely to get agreement from LNR as summer rugby in France would be a complete non-option without major changes implemented to cope with heat.

I can't understand why they can't sign up to have the same global international window and let the club seasons stay as they are.

I am not sure I want the Rugby Championship on the same time as the 6Ns but I guess we can get use to it.

LondonTiger wrote:So the plan seems to be to move the 6Ns (and a new 6 team SH tournament) to April/May, then start the club season with a second international window in the NH autumn.

Unlikely to get agreement from LNR as summer rugby in France would be a complete non-option without major changes implemented to cope with heat.

No matter how you look at this moving the season and calendar about is a bad idea. The 6Ns is ideal where it is it's at a time of the year where there is very little else happening in sport and it's on terrestrial TV - it's the best shop window rugby union has in the NH.

All the powers that be seem to be saying is they don't like the current set up but none of them have come up with any evidence that their new system will be any better.

English and French clubs have thrown a spanner in the works, this global season isn’t going to happen

Why? Not read anything in the press up here.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Why? Not read anything in the press up here.

It was reported in This article

Not seen that. Pichot had them on board and talking though. Sounds as if they are just playing their cards for the decent offer from the unions.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jun/27/world-rugby-club-championship-could-start-in-2022-says-simon-halliday

Some further info on this. Always going to be a balancing act as it needs agreement not enforcement.

More travel, more cost, more matches, more player fatigue in already over full season.

What a farce. These teams will have the bulk of current test players from some Unions. It will just be more pseudo-test rugby but in different colour shirts.

Sanzar have already proved less is more, with their financially painful 'evolution' in recent years.

I wonder whether this is just a bargaining chip by EPCR, to rein in Unions who own rather than run their professional tier, who in an ideal world would probably want 12-15 tests a year to pay for their control.

It was only a few years ago England played Australia five times in the space of twelve months, ridiculous.

It's a balance between club and country. One doesn't rule the other so if this is a potential solution to get a global season so be it.