The International Rugby Board (IRB) is taking steps toward introducing a global calendar to end substandard tours such as the current France tour of New Zealand.
The issue is to be thrashed out at a summit meeting of clubs and international unions soon after the World Cup final in Paris on October 20, head of the IRB's tours committee, Bernard Lapasset, said in Auckland yesterday.
Lapasset, who is also president of the Federation Francaise de Rugby (FFR), admitted to feeling embarrassed about the third-rate quality of his touring side which was beaten 11-42 by the All Blacks on Saturday.
"It's not good for the international level," he said.
About 30 top French players were unavailable for the New Zealand tour because it clashed with the play-offs of their domestic club championship.
England and Wales are also touring South Africa and Australia respectively with under-strength sides.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry last week called on the IRB to fix the scheduling "chaos."
"When sides are coming to this side of the world that are not as strong as they should be — that's not good for the game," he said.
"These things need to be talked about and solved. The game's bigger than that," he said.
Lapasset said the IRB originally put nine possible solutions on the table and that number had been whittled down to three which will be investigated in November.
He would not reveal the gist of the three options but was confident they formed the basis of a return to a schedule providing meaningful contests.
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
China’s Wu Yize on Monday won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final. Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The 22-year-old is the second Chinese player to win the world title after Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams to make history as the first Asian to lift the trophy last year. Wu is also the second-youngest player to be crowned world champion at the Crucible after Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he won in 1990. “I have been trying
RSS