We thought the rugby calendar was overloaded. But when you're looking for the penny, you always find a way to make room for it. After the arrival of the South African teams in the Champions Cup, the EPCR, the organizer of the European Cup, seems to have accepted a new major development for continental rugby according to the British press. As expected for several months, the governing body and the main national leagues would have agreed on the creation of a Club World Cup. European clubs would face teams from Super Rugby and Japan in a new competition played every four years.
The Daily Mail and The Guardian, the English newspapers revealed this Monday the content of a project which would upset the national championships as well as the Champions Cup. The principle ? A competition running over the month of June, the first edition of which will take place in 2028. The Top 14, a 26-day marathon championship and a final phase over three weekends which ends at the end of June will be seriously impacted. According to the British press, the National League has agreed to end the competition in May. It remains to find dates. Extra duplicates during the Six Nations Tournament and the autumn tour? Without a doubt.
The Champions Cup will also be affected. And there, still according to the English media, the solution is worth the detour. Once every four years, the European Cup will be interrupted after the round of 16 and the eight remaining clubs will compete in the World Cup against six Super Rugby teams and two teams from the Japanese championship. If the first edition, in 2028, should take place in the northern hemisphere, the organizers would not be closed to the idea of alternating with the southern hemisphere if television contracts allow it. Long trips in perspective proving that international rugby definitely does not worry about environmental conditions.