The Six Nations have taken the next step towards World Rugby’s proposed Nations Championship by agreeing to due diligence.
The relevant unions will now have access to sensitive documents to establish whether the league will be commercially viable or not.
World Rugby believes the Nations Championship could produce a potential £5-billion (approximately R92-billion) over 12 years.
According to The Guardian, the Six Nations have a number of weeks to look over the documents before making a decision whether they support the proposal or not.
It is believed that five of the six unions are not in favour of the plan, with France the only member who fully supports the proposal at this stage. A major concern surrounds the introduction of relegation into the Six Nations.
‘The council met [on Wednesday] and discussed the various options available, which involve the future structure and delivery of the championship,’ the Six Nations said in a statement. ‘We will continue our due diligence in relation to the World Rugby Nations Championship proposal.’
The Six Nations added that they will continue looking at all other options available, which include four proposals from private equity companies and a sports management group.
A final decision over the Nations Championship is expected at the next World Rugby council meeting on 22 May.
World Rugby’s proposed Nations Championship structure:
Following positive meetings with rugby’s major stakeholders in Dublin today, here is the proposed Nations Championship format. pic.twitter.com/7lOzBgHWC7
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) March 14, 2019
Photo: Getty Images
