Irb Forum To Discuss Integrated Season

The International Rugby Board has taken a step towards resolving ongoing issues
over its annual calendar by convening a forum which will look to establish an
integrated season for the sport for the first time.

The creation of the forum is the last move by the IRB on the issue having
been working with the national unions on the idea of an integrated season for
over two years.

Over the last 15 months the IRB has engaged financial services company
Deloitte to deliver analysis on the structure, health and economics of the Game
worldwide – information which will now be put in front of the game’s
stakeholders before a decision on how best to move forward is made.

Proposed options that have evolved from the IRB’s high performance committee
and executive committee involve re-alignments to the matches currently played as
part of the existing June and November international windows.

The forum is designed to allow the IRB to discuss with the game’s
stakeholders these options plus any others raised by the attendees through a
pre-forum consultation process. The forum will be facilitated by an independent
third party.