by Momentum is heading towards the first Club World Cup in 2028, with powerbrokers hoping to stage the 16-team competition over four weeks in June of that year in the northern hemisphere.
Insiders have suggested there is “positive momentum” behind the plans, and “agreed core principles” between northern and southern hemisphere leaders.
The new competition will take place every four years, meaning a second edition is proposed for 2032, and will effectively replace the Investec Champions Cup edition stages for the European and South African teams that qualify. The finalists for the Club World Cup from the Champions Cup will be decided in the pool stages of the latter.
For example, if the Club World Cup were to take place this year, Toulouse, Leinster, Northampton Saints, Bordeaux-Bègles, Harlequins, Bulls, Stormers and Exeter Chiefs would progress to a separate format that would include the six Super Rugby franchises. better and two. more club teams, probably from Japan.
The eight clubs that were in the last 16 this season – Bath, La Rochelle, Lyon, Glasgow Warriors, Saracens, Munster, Leicester Tigers and Racing 92 this season – would drop into the “supercharged” Challenge Cup.
This would be possible if domestic competitions finished earlier this years, which is a significant step since the French had a tacit defense of keeping the top 14 in their early summer slot.
Meanwhile, the women’s Champions Trophy is making significant progress. Proposals are to be examined at a conference next June and the goal is to hold the first edition in 2026, the year after the World Cup is held in England.
Competitors would come from Women’s Rugby in the English Premier League, Élite 1 Feminine in France, the Celtic Challenge, which features sides from Wales, Ireland and Scotland, as well as the Latin Cup, which includes clubs from Italy and Spain.
A global feel for the Club World Cup is essential to its success
In an age of skepticism about rugby union administrators, where many incumbents are trying to find the wrongs of the past, it is remarkable that the proposals for the Club World Cup are so close. Convincing domestic competitions to move their finals back to May is a task that will require a lot of negotiation and patience, leaving June open for the first exhibition in 2028.
Raw intrigue was never a problem and it felt like this contest has been in the ether for years. In recent years, we have often wondered who would prevail in a clash between Leinster and the Crusaders, with those in the middle of their silverware in Super Rugby. Those two teams even engaged in locked tactical workshops.
Now that it is almost like, cynics will question whether the game Seriously The Club World Cup needs four weeks in the summer after an international cup. Players who represented their respective countries the previous year will be in the spotlight. Environmental costs will not be insignificant either.
Insiders believe that the venture can “generate significant finances”, which underpins everything, as the first installment will be understood. It will be interesting to see how supporters feel about being left out of the list of Champions Cup winners once every four years. That concept might upset any traditionalist who isn’t already deeply unsettled by the changes to European competition and a confusing format.
What, then, might this creation look like? We have to shake things up a bit because of the way the seasons work, but this year Toulouse, Leinster, Northampton Saints, Bordeaux-Bègles, Harlequins, Bulls, Stormers and Exeter Chiefs would progress from ranks during the Champions Cup. The top six of Super Rugby Pacific, although the teams have only played six or seven games, are: Blues, Hurricanes, Brumbies, Chiefs, Rebels, Reds.
Saitama Wild Knights and Brave Lupus Tokyo are currently in first and second place in Japan’s top league. Their ranks boast Damian de Allende and Marika Koroibete, while the finalists include Michael Leitch and Richie Mo’unga. Dependent on buy-in from teams, which would be crucial to the success of the Club World Cup, squads should be full of stars. Honestly, the Premiership reps would be against it – but why should that bother anyone?
Imagining the composition of a drawn game and the possible routes to the grand final sets the mood and begs one more question. Is this another way to isolate the haves from the have-nots?
Argentina’s Jaguares are rumored to return to Super Rugby in the coming years and Fiji could be pushing for the Club World Cup by 2028. In theory, teams from Argentina, Australia , England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales could feature. Moana Pasifika, based in New Zealand, is made for players with Pacifica heritage and will surely have a Georgian team in the United Rugby Championship before too long.
All that adds up to a reasonable geographic spread. But could we be doing more? Perhaps that only emphasizes the plight of the rugby administrator. The answer is always ‘yes’.
