PAUL REES ASSESSES WORLD RUGBY’S PLANS TO MODERNISE THE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC GAME

The prospect of a global season has always seemed a world away. The leading nations in the two hemispheres have been divided by more than geography. Clubs in France and England, joined recently by Japan, have ensured their leagues grow despite the primacy of Test rugby having the resources to attract the best and the emerging nations no longer accept being training fodder every four years in a World Cup.
The calendar has become congested to the point where it needs more than 12 months but t...