Rugby’s north vs south ‘grand final’: Hong Kong union open to idea of hosting
- Proposed new global league could culminate in grand final between the best of the northern and southern hemispheres, it is reported
- Hong Kong ‘is a great option’, says boss of the city’s rugby union after it is suggested as a potential venue for the final
Hong Kong rugby chiefs have welcomed reports that the city could host the final of a new global tournament between the best sides in the northern and southern hemispheres.
According to a story by UK outlet The Telegraph, the sport’s governing body World Rugby has agreed on a blueprint for a new global league through which a final would take place every two years. It would also involve the ring-fencing of the present Six Nations Championship.
The new format, which is expected to be confirmed by the time of the World Cup in France in September, would only include games from the test windows in the northern hemisphere’s summer and autumn. It is expected to begin from 2026.
Made up of two groups of six teams from each hemisphere, the tournament would involve countries from the Six Nations and the southern hemisphere’s Rugby Championship, with Fiji and Japan also included.
Robbie McRobbie, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Rugby Union, said that his organisation had “read with interest” the report about the new tournament, “and the suggestion that if such a competition was to be staged then Hong Kong would be a possible venue for the grand final”.
