Six Nations hold talks about delaying start of 2021 championship - reports
With the delayed 2020 Six Nations finally completed last Saturday, it has now emerged that talks have already taken place about delaying the February start of the 2021 championship until next autumn in the hope that matches won’t have to take place behind closed doors.
The remaining four matches of the 2020 Six Nations were played without any spectators in attendance in Dublin, Llanelli, Rome and Paris over the past two Saturdays and organisers have already discussed whether it would be best not to begin the 2021 championship as planned on February 6.
A country such as Wales, who have home matches against Ireland and England, stands to lose upwards of £13.5million if those games go ahead with no-one in attendance.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Welsh Rugby Union CEO Steve Phillips revealed plans are afoot for a potential delay. “We have posed the question, ‘should we move the Six Nations?’ Everyone has shown great agility in changing things.
“They did move the Olympics by a year, which is quite a thing to do, so why would you not look at it? Going from 100 per cent, as we have always known it, to zero would mean we miss out on £13.5m pounds. That does become uncomfortable,” he said, hoping that the UK Government will eventually come to the assistance of the financially stricken sport in the coming weeks.
The Six Nations could be moved from spring to autumn 2021 amid coronavirus uncertainty | @WillGKelleher https://t.co/fHSDy1mwNS
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) November 6, 2020
“We’re optimistic Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will react to that over the next few weeks,” he continued before admitting pushing the championship later into 2021 could cause scheduling issues. “The difficulty is where you move it to. Moving it from starting in February to March, how do you know the climate will have changed and you can have crowds?
“If you push it too far you get the problem of season congestion, the knock-on on clubs. Given the size of the prize for the collective, you have to look at it whether you can deliver it is the next question.
“What you probably want to avoid is displacing it into the autumn window where we play southern hemisphere opposition. That isn’t great either. There is a wider social piece here. I had a surreal experience of going to the Stade de France the other week.
“It really brings home how much the game needs a crowd. The financials are obvious, but it’s a very different environment particularly in international rugby. It is just wrong not to have crowds.”
With Amazon Prime becoming the main broadcaster for the upcoming Autumn Nations Cup, it’s also believed that the Six Nations will likely move from free-to-air TV from 2022 as the cash-strapped unions seek out the support of the subscription broadcasters.
“There is an inevitability to it,” continued Phillips in the Daily Mail. “Everyone is now trying to fill revenue holes. I fully accept not everyone is going to like it but it’s a decision that will be made as the Six Nations together. Would we consider Sky, BT, Amazon for that? Absolutely.”
Page 142 of his own seven-year-old book could do with a re-read https://t.co/D4z0oTF1qG
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 5, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Always reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
1 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
4 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
4 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
4 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
4 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
7 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
4 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
7 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to comments