International rugby calendar approved by World Rugby
October will see the return of international rugby after it was announced that World Rugby approved a temporary calendar on Thursday for the rest of the year.
The Six Nations will be concluded at the end of October with the competition only needing two weeks to finish and from 7 November there will be four rounds of international matches in Europe.
It's been slated that the Rugby Championship will take place from 7 November over six weeks to finish in the second week of December. It's common knowledge that SANZAAR are looking at hosting the entire tournament in New Zealand.
There could be significant backlash from the English and French clubs in particular who have made their thoughts known that they believe the window for international rugby is too long given the importance of the period for domestic rugby in order to complete the current season.
Further issues could arise in South Africa after newly appointed Springbok coach Jacques Nienarber mentioned that the Springboks would not play in the Rugby Championship if they hadn't had at least six rounds of domestic rugby under their belt.
CEO of SA Rugby Jurie Roux has mentioned that the local season will start in the final week of August or the first week of September which should give the players enough time to prepare.
World Rugby's statement said that they had spoken extensively with rugby's stakeholders and came to a decision that they feel is in the best interest of all those involved.
"Throughout this process, all parties have sought to deliver the best possible outcome to support the interests of international and club rugby and the players," World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said.
"Agreement and approval of this schedule is exciting for players and fans and an important step in supporting our unions in mitigating financial impact and optimising the sport's return from the pandemic in an equitable way."
It's also been rumoured that Fiji and Japan will join the six current European sides to form an eight team competition that will be divided into two pools.
