Proposed club world cup

yep i shouldve mentioned that if the 6N went biennial then something like your suggestion or even just expanded tours would have to happen

rather than what seems to be being proposed id much prefer something like that and then just have something like the world club challenge in league where the super league and NRL winners play each other every year, alternating countries for hosting and i think its been expanded recently so the runners up play each other too. could be just between the heineken and super teams - 1st plays the alternate 2nd in the semis and then have a 3/4 game along with the final, or could just be the winners of the URC, French, Super and English comps.

Basically i dont like the format of whats being suggested

off topic but also think the tour timings should be swapped - NH host in June/July and SH host in November

Said it before, but I think it would be a great replacement for the Lions tour years. If they had a Euro competition up North, and a similar one down South it would offer a lot more value.

Would disagree, but it wouldn't have to be a replacement. Could run instead of the usual tours

Careful what you wish for lads, Ireland not very successful in sports with a global reach! With the odd exceptional individual athletes.

Let us have our rugby time in the sun!

I'd agree with this, even in the countries where the game is holding its own or growing it's in decline at the level below full professional. Go onto any chat in any rugby country and people are complaining that where their club had 3 or 4 teams in the past, now they struggle to field one or two. That extends to crowds and funding too.

Rugby is looking at real headwinds from the concussion stuff and from competition with other sports and the amount of activities available to young people these days. Stuff like wading into the trans controversy needlessly and inelegantly just makes the situation worse.

WR have their work cut out for them to grow the game and even with the attention that the RWC brings every 4 years they haven't succeeded very well, except perhaps for Japan and Arg. Here in the US the league seems viable but it gives very little to the grassroots game as it's almost fully disconnected from the club game and they let the rule about limiting non US eligible players slide after just a few months. It's great for guys coming out of the Leinster academy who don't get picked up but not much good to anyone else.

I'd like to think so but evidence is not compelling and people I now who are connected to the game at a national level are not confident because of the nature of the MLR, dominated by 2 owners who are extremely wealthy and refuse to speak to each other. Absurd pissing contest underwritten by World Rugby. Ironically where things are genuinely exciting is in the women's game, where the club and college level is humming nicely and they don't have a pro league.

In the men's game there is talk about Glendale(?) joining a South American League...

Saw that Chile result, fantastic, though it does also indicate that the the US mens national team is in trouble. The US crowd was abysmal and the venue (in the US home game) was absolutely awful. But yes, the game in SA is coming along very well and there is a club competition involving a clubs from Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Paraguay. The Chilean club is the basis for the team that just qualified for the WC for the first time, so its real strides. I believe there was a tour involving a few of those clubs going to Canada/US last year and Glendale (or a team from the club) played against them and are discussing the possibility of a team joining the competition. Its a round robin format so it can work by keeping costs down as teams come and play in the same place in each round. This seems very promising as it will bring a new audience to the comp and give US based players real international experience at the club level.

MLR sides arent going to join any south american competition as theres far more potential for growth just staying in North America. Why go to expense of going to South America when they can stay in US with odd team or two from Canada.

The structures arent really a mess. Theres a pro league in US with some canadians involved. There was existing clubs with good history in US but it made more sense for pro teams to just create new teams based on citys/states like most other pro sports in US

There is a pro league in South America with sides from 6 countries involved

There is a draft for college players and there is a fairly substantial ever growing age grade set up in quite a few states. Many travel over here to play every year, Quite a few of the pro teams are setting up academies and linking in with colleges and the existing clubs/high schools to tie in players

It had to go this way though. The way to promote the competition to new eyes was to base it on states/cities like the other major sports

Munster have played Russia/Enesei(russian champions multiple times) in past on a few occasions. around 10+ years ago. Would be bit more difficult to arrange games against chile etc