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The Six Nations could be moved to April under plans by new World Rugby chief Bill Beaumont
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Guinness PRO12 managing director Martin Anayi has supported the idea
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Anayi was speaking at the tournament’s launch in Dublin on Tuesday
Guinness PRO12 managing director Martin Anayi has added to the calls for the Six Nations to be moved to later in the year to create a global season.
Anayi was speaking at the tournament’s launch in Dublin on Tuesday and also revealed that “early” talks had taken place with USA Rugby, broadcasters and sponsors over the future involvement of a North American franchise in the league.
Anayi believes the USA national team’s development will accelerate as a result, and that all players and clubs will benefit from the potential switch.
“You’ve got to talk about why it is that we’re losing a huge proportion of international players not week in and week out, but in big chunks of the season,” Anayi told the BBC.
“Intersperse that with European club rugby as well and you get quite a disjointed season.
“We think there’s a simple solution, which is to push the Six Nations back and finish the club season before the Six Nations.
“We’ll be really, really sure about our future and how successful club rugby can be globally if we can just get to the point where we get our international players playing in a consistent fashion.”
It was also announced that the Aviva Stadium in Dublin will stage next May’s Pro12 final with the announcement made during the launch of the 2016/2017 season on Tuesday.
