Re-elected World Rugby boss Sir Bill Beaumont says he is confident a revised Nations Championship will be launched in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
“You are pretty foolish if you don’t learn lessons,” said Beaumont.
Speaking to BBC 5 Live’s Guest List show, he said: “In the past where people have been quite protective about what they have got, I think what we are looking at now is that this is probably a reality check in the sport [in terms of] are we doing things correctly?
I am honoured to have been re-elected as Chairman of World Rugby. I would like to thank my union and region colleagues, members of the global rugby family and, of course my family, for all their support. Bernard and I will be working for everyone in this great game.@WorldRugby
— Sir Bill Beaumont (@BillBeaumont) May 2, 2020
“There is a real feeling I get now that there will be some variant of the Nations Championship that will come back on the table.
A Nations Championship would see the results from regular competitions like the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship count towards a league, as would ‘home and away’ cross-hemisphere matches.
He’s also looking to make it so players switch nations moving forward following a stand down period.
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“You could also work out criteria to boost the Pacific Islands,” said Beaumont.
“Charles Piutau could return to play for Tonga after a four-year stand-down. Semesa Rokoduguni, the Tuilagis, the Vunipolas who could all qualify for the likes of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga.
“When they’re coming to the end of their years they might fancy one last hurrah with those countries.”
LIST | 5 England players who could swap nations for 2023 World Cup
Sir Bill Beaumont has hit back in the World Rugby election race and revealed he wants to create a law change that would allow Manu Tuilagi and other England stars to end their Test career playing for other nations.
The former England captain raised the possibility in his re-election manifesto ahead of next month’s contest with former Argentina scrum-half Agustin Pichot.
In it he promises a review of Regulation 8 which covers eligibility to play for national teams “to see how we can support the longevity of players’ international careers”.
Based on this, we’ve looked at some other current England stars who could head to the 2023 Rugby World Cup to represent other nations.
We’ve not included Billy Vunipola, as we think he is likely to be still in the reckoning for England in three years time.
1. Manu Tuilagi (Samoa)
- Current number of caps: 41
- Age at the start of RWC 2023: 32
- Did you know: He was named Manusamoa, after the name of the Samoan national team
The England centre, who was born in Fogapoa and came to the UK at the age of 13, is one of a clutch of Pacific Island players whose eligibility status could change if the restrictions are relaxed. He is the younger brother of Freddie, Henry, Alesana, Anitelea and Sanele Vavae Tuilagi, all of whom are Samoan internationals and also played for Leicester. It would be fantastic for the powerhouse to complete the set.