All Black basher Stephen Jones takes a crack at Ireland and Scotland

Scotland and Ireland...the height of foolish self interest. Photo / Photosport

Notorious Kiwi rugby basher Stephen Jones has turned his guns closer to home in the wake of the Nations Cup collapse.

Jones has penned a passionate column which, while getting his usual dig in at New Zealand, has slammed the wider self-interest which he says is preventing rugby moving forward.

"God help the sport in which Scotland and Ireland effectively have a veto," he wrote in his Sunday Times column.

"Where are the world-class administrators, the visionaries?"

He said there were a "myriad of implications of the quiet burial of the 12-team Nations Cup (which has been) driven by World Rugby's small professional staff, chairman Sir Bill Beaumont and vice-chairman Agustin Pichot.

"Surely it must be a blessed sport than can refuse an injection of $11.8m leaving the paymaster poised with finger raised, ready to push the button for the biggest bank transfer the sport has ever seen.

"Last week, that sport duly responded to that raised finger with two raised fingers. Blessed? Try basket case."

New Zealand Rugby and Sanzaar chairman Brent Impey last week expressed extreme disappointment over the demise of the Nations Cup. Reports said Scotland and Italy in particular had issues with the proposed promotion relegation system.

Jones wrote that the major unions, the true powerbrokers, were "again mostly revealed in a ghastly light".

"Self-interest is rampant. Ireland and Scotland are against anything new, or challenging, or anything that was England's idea," he wrote.

"The arrogance of New Zealand (seen as the biggest draw in the game, by themselves) tends to dissipate as they demand a half-share of every away gate, trying to hide the fact that their gates are feeble because they have never built a stadium; visitors would get half of nothing.

"That that continues around the world means rugby never moves. The sport is still waiting for a structured season, for a proper window for the British & Irish Lions."

England and Wales had, according to Jones' sources, kept an open mind on the Nations Cup despite reservations.

Jones appeared to still hold out hope that World Rugby's ambitions would win out one day.

"...(the) good news for the players and followers of Samoa, Fiji, Japan and USA is that one day their grandchildren might play in a fair world of promotion and aspiration.

"World Rugby also wanted to build resources so that their proud ambition of having 24 competing teams in the 2027 World Cup might be realised. But they won't have the money, when just a small slice of £6.1bn would have sufficed."