"Kicks off in 2026" - Six Nations ring fenced as part of new global league

Tuesday, 21 March 2023 at 09:21

byRugby Rucker

According to Telegraph Sport, rugby governing bodies have agreed upon a new blueprint for a global league that will feature a "grand final" every two years between the northern and southern hemisphere teams.

Additionally, the Six Nations Championship will be ringfenced under this plan. The new league structure, set to begin in 2026, will include only summer and autumn window games and will comprise of two groups of six teams from each hemisphere, namely the Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides.

The inclusion of Japan and Fiji is also expected.

According to The Telegraph, the new format means:

The current format of the Six Nations Championship will be ring-fenced, ending any hope South Africa held of joining the European competition or for the introduction of promotion and relegation.

Northern hemisphere sides will play three southern opponents away from home in the July window, bringing to an end the traditional summer tours of two or three Tests against one host country.

The fixtures will be replicated at the home venues of the northern hemisphere nations in the November window, with the top team from each pool facing each other in a grand final, and ranking play-off games for the others.

The tournament will be held every two years from 2026, with fixtures rotated so that every side plays against each other over a two-tournament cycle

From 2030, a promotion and relegation could be introduced to provide a pathway from a second-tier competition which is expected to be launched next year for nations including Georgia, Samoa and Tonga.

All stakeholders are confident it will not diminish the status of the Rugby World Cup, and it will be marketed as a battle of the hemispheres.

The future of the British and Irish Lions tours will be secured and in Lions years countries able to stage traditional tours as normal, and include more fixtures against tier two countries to enhance their development.

What England's 33-man Rugby World Cup squad looks like right now

With the Rugby World Cup a mere six months away, we sat down to select the 33-man England squad we think Steve Borthwick would pick right now.

With the Guinness Six Nations behind us, the England boss will now turn his attention towards the Rugby World Cup.

Check out Wales Online's predicted 33-man Wales squad here.

PREDICTED ENGLAND WORLD CUP SQUAD:

FRONT-ROW: 6

Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)

Mako Vunipola (Saracens)

Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks)

Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears)

Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)

Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)

Jamie George (Saracens)

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)

Jack Walker (Harlequins)

Final whistle celebrations for Ellis Genge of England Rugby, \Kyle Sinckler of England Rugby and Joe Marler of England Rugby after the Six Nations Championship match between England and Wales at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on February 26th 2021. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK

SECOND-ROW: 4

Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
David Ribbans (Northampton Saints)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)

Final whistle celebrations for Maro Itoje of England Rugby after the Six Nations Championship match between England and Wales at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on February 26th 2021. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK

BACK-ROW: 6

Zach Mercer (Montpellier)

Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints)

Jack Willis (Wasps)

Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)

Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)

Sam Underhill (Bath RFC)

Tom Curry of England during the Autumn Nations Match between England and Tonga at Twickenham Stoop on 6 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK

HALFBACKS: 5

Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)

Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)

Ben Young (Leicester Tigers)

Marcus Smith (Harlequins)

George Ford (Sale Sharks)

Leicester Tigers player George Ford (c) during the Gallagher Premiership rugby game between Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Nov 5th - PHOTO: Steve Bond/PPAUK