Rugby chiefs from around the world are meeting in Dublin to discuss the Nations Championship concept as they look to restructure the global calendar.
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The idea of a competition every second year outside of World Cups and Lions tours failed to get off the ground three years ago due to disagreements between hemispheres and concerns over player welfare.
It is hoped that an agreement in principle will be achieved this week for the Nations Championship to go ahead from 2026, with an announcement from World Rugby only expected after November.
The Guardian is reporting that it has been "broadly agreed by all parties", including the players.
In 2019 there was significant opposition from the players' union amid welfare concerns, and while there are hurdles to be overcome, there is optimism progress will be made this week.
The Guardian says the competition would involve the Six Nations - England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales - in the north while Australia, Argentina, Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa would be joined in the south by Japan, even though it is in the northern hemisphere.
European teams would play three matches on their June tours against three different opponents and face the remaining three southern nations at home in November.
Photo: PhotoSport / James Crombie
The top two in each pool would meet each other in a fourth week in November and it is understood there is some support for a finals day involving all teams, rather than a single fixture between the top two sides.
Remaining stumbling blocks include the fact that there are only three official Test weeks in November at present - a finals day would require four and need agreements over player release with the French and English clubs.
Insiders believe, however, that because of greater ongoing collaboration with the clubs there is likely to be less opposition from the Premiership and the Top 14 than three years ago.
Other issues to be ironed are believed to be over revenue sharing.
There are also concerns in some quarters over promotion and relegation from the competition with a second-tier tournament including nations such as the USA, Tonga, Samoa and Georgia also set to be introduced, possibly from 2024.
One of the major fears over the new tournament is that it would mean fewer matches between established and developing nations but it is believed that is not considered something that will torpedo the proposal.
Equally significant is that both the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship would remain unaffected, removing the thorny issue of promotion and relegation being introduced to the former.
-Guardian/PlanetRugby
