ECB Blocks RFU Twenty20 Move

The England and Wales Cricket Board have blocked a move by the Rugby Football
Union for the latter to use the Twenty20 moniker for a new grassroots rugby
tournament.

The ECB confirmed that the RFU had made an approach to use the Twenty20 title
for its new concept but that the request had been firmly denied.

An ECB spokesman stated: ‘We have trademarked the various titles and we
understand that the RFU are now exploring other titles to make sure that the two
sports are differentiated.’

The RFU is looking for a brand name to promote its new grassroots concept
which is designed to bring players who have previously played amateur rugby at
grassroots level back into competitive games.

A pilot for the scheme was to see midweek games arranged split into periods
of 20 minutes each, under the Twenty20 branding.

This was then to lead to the creation of a national tournament next September
as part of a campaign to attract new players to the game ahead of the Rugby
World Cup.