Pichot calls for fresh 10-year blueprint to avoid 'ruin'

World rugby announced an agreement for a global calendar up to 2032 following a meeting in San Francisco 18 months ago, but Pichot said that there was a need to review plans to save the international game from financial problems.

Pichot calls for fresh 10-year blueprint to avoid 'ruin'

(Reuters)





"If you ask me as a businessman, the business side of it isn't working. If you ask me as the playing side, it's not working," former Argentina captain and scrum-half Pichot told the Guardian.

"Is the international game under threat? I think it is. Look at the balance sheets of some nations and you can see exactly where we stand. By the 2019 World Cup we need to have a blueprint for the next 10 years.

"On a scale of one to 10, I think we're four out of 10 now (in terms of finding a solution). We need to push that needle from four to at least six or seven. I'm not going to be an accomplice to rugby's ruin."

Under the agreement in March 2016, the June international window will move to the first three weeks of July to allow the Southern Hemisphere provincial championship, Super Rugby, to be completed prior to the matches.

There will also be a minimum of a 39 percent increase in matches between top and second-tier nations over the 2020-2032 period, World Rugby had said.

However, Pichot said a rethink was required keeping in mind player welfare.

"Players cannot carry on playing as they are now. You cannot have them playing 30-odd competitive club and international games just because you want bums on seats," Pichot added.

"I've been a professional player so I understand how it goes but you have to take care of the athlete. The first principle is the players' welfare because they inspire everyone, both us now and the next generation."





(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world