There is logic to the fresh international format, due to launch next year, but glaring issues and logistical challenges too
O
K, let’s just pick the ball up and run with it for a little while. A reimagined global Test landscape pitching the northern hemisphere against the south commencing next July. Twelve men’s national sides playing six games each with a final playoff weekend. Concluding with one champion team hoisting a shiny trophy aloft in front of, hopefully, a worldwide television audience of millions.
On paper – and years of scribbling on the backs of envelopes have gone into this – there is some logic to it. Instead of seemingly random Tests scattered like distant dots on someone else’s map there is at least a discernible framework. Every game will, in theory, resonate. And, by virtue of pooling everybody’s TV rights, there are hopes of a collective commercial and promotional upside that can benefit the whole sport.
Er, how long can we keep this feelgood momentum going? At first glance the new “finals weekend” in London on 27-29 November looks intriguing. Let’s imagine it was taking place this autumn with South Africa set to face up-and-coming England in a winner-takes-all finale. Would you tune in as a neutral? On the face of it there is a decent chance you would.
