‘Coronavirus Cup of World Rugby’ has little appeal to Scotland

Tentative plans for a 16-nation tournament to be held in UK next year

Former RFU chief executive Francis Baron. Picture: Getty Images

Scottish Rugby insists it has not been involved in putting together proposals for a 16-nation World Cup-style tournament to be held in the UK next year in a bid to raise cash for the sport.

With the Six Nations yet to be completed, summer tours cancelled and Autumn Tests in doubt due to coronavirus, national unions are facing massive losses, in some cases tens of millions of pounds.

Scottish Rugby chief executive Mark Dodson admitted last week it could lose £40 million in revenue if games up to and including next year’s Six Nations are called off or played without paying spectators.

The idea, with the working title “Coronavirus Cup of World Rugby”, has been put forward by former English RFU chief executive Francis Baron, who says it could boost funds by £250m – spread between the participants.

Baron, who stepped down as RFU boss in 2010 but was involved in England’s successful bid to host the 2015 World Cup, yesterday briefed a London newspaper about his idea.

But a Scottish Rugby source told The Scotsman that it had not been actively involved in any such plan.

An official Scottish Rugby spokesman did say that any such event would be a matter for World Rugby.

The spokesman also pointed that 2021 is already packed with a British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa and the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which will involve a Great Britain Sevens side.

If the global tournament does take place as an emergency response to the 
crisis, it may require the Lions tour to be shelved.