World Rugby chiefs set 'most critical meeting in 15 years' as Six Nations changes mooted
Change is coming to rugby as a major meeting has been called involving World Rugby and the Six Nations.
World Rugby, Six Nations and Sanzaar are set to hold the “most crucial set of meetings” in 15 years as major changes to the sport will reportedly be discussed next week. Rugby has been dogged by financial issues worldwide alongside player safety concerns and loopholes in the rules, with the future of the game to be addressed at length.
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London Irish became the third team to be banished from English competitions last year for financial reasons after Worcester Warriors and Wasps. As many as 295 ex-players are currently suing rugby authorities over brain injuries, as a result of alleged failures in reasonable health and safety measures being put in place.
The Six Nations has seen matches endure moments of bizarre kicking games which leaves the majority of players stationary in the middle of the pitch. Dubbed the ‘Dupont law’ as Antoine Dupont first discovered the loophole, calls have been made for an overhaul of the laws of the games with rugby in disarray.
New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson and a number of high-profile decision-makers are set to attend the meeting. He shone a light on the situaton and refused to play down the severity of what those discussions would entail.
“It’s probably the most critical set of meetings I can recall for the last 15 years or so,” he told New Zealand outlet Stuff. “That’s how we see them in terms of importance because of the focus on shape of the game and the opportunity, with everyone coming together with a similar view, for the on-field product to have the opportunity for great change.
“Whilst we’ve seen some amazing rugby in recent times, we are still seeing occasional contests where it is frustrating because of the nature of some of the rules.
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“We’ve worked really hard, and feel confident that with the package of information we’ve put together with our leading coaches and high-performance staff, with player and match official input and fan data, we go up there well prepared. We’re looking forward to some robust discussion coming out of those days.”
Without going into too much depth, Robinson did explain that key decisions in the UK would revolve around the shape of the game and the need for a shift away from the status quo. There is expected to be a quick resolution to the ‘Dupont law’ also.
Super Rugby Pacific have already trialled a change to the offside law to outlaw the kick-tennis matches within games, but pivotal talks could altar that worldwide and much more when rugby kingpins travel to the UK.
