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Rugby’s ‘global season’ may have been forming beneath our noses over the past few months.
In coming months, SANZAR nations will finalise a mammoth deal to underpin southern hemisphere rugby for the next four or five seasons, while this has recently been completed in Europe by leading stakeholders France, England, Ireland and Wales.
These deals cement current commercial arrangements, competition windows and dates and begin to firm up what we can now consider as the global rugby calendar.
So what do we know of the current status of the global season?
There are approximately 20 weeks of official international windows in the rugby year, leaving the remaining 32 weeks for club competitions and player rest.
The 20 weeks of official internationals are:
Three weeks – June Test window
Three weeks – November Test window
Seven weeks – Six Nations Championship (February to March)
Seven weeks – Rugby Championship (August to September)
The weeks and dates for the Six Nations and Rugby Championship vary year-to-year by a week here or there but are largely the same. The main point is that we are moving to a situation where we have a global season where clubs in both the northern and southern hemisphere must work around these two largely set-in-stone player release windows.
Leagues have two ways of dealing with this – playing through the windows, or taking a break while their key players are on international duty in order to maintain the league’s integrity. Super Rugby as a competition largely avoids player release windows, while northern leagues play through them.
There is one more issue that is on the horizon however. As the World Rugby Sevens grows in prestige, and there is pressure to release players to tournaments, these player release windows could affect more clubs.
Sevens tournaments occur mainly in the northern season and in total add another 10 official international player release dates a club must negotiate. The fact that almost all World Rugby Sevens series tournaments are held during the northern hemisphere season, and player release is mandated by World Rugby, is sure to cause future friction.
However constant calls for a global season are overlooking the fact that we have already arrived at a commercial compromise. The only part left to fit in is the fast-growing game of sevens.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.