KEY POINTS:
The IRB is moving towards scrapping an existing test window in favour of creating one slot to play inter-hemisphere matches.
Establishing an integrated season was top of the agenda at an executive IRB meeting in Auckland this week. It was decided more research should be done on the prospect of ditching the June or November test window.
IRB chief executive Mike Miller, said: "It was agreed the area where most work needs to be done is the June and November test windows. There was a view expressed wondering whether it would be possible to combine those two. The questions then would be which one do you keep? And then would you play all the tests in the Southern Hemisphere one year and then all of them in the Northern Hemisphere the next or would you split them half and half.
"For instance, would you have the All Blacks play Wales in New Zealand and then go back to Cardiff to play there? Another thing that we discussed was the current schedule where England and France tend to play doubles [two-test series] whereas everyone else tends to play just single tests. We talked about whether more teams could play doubles and we could create more meaningful tests almost in a tournament format."
The IRB will spend the next few months coming up with workable scenarios to restructure the season. There are nine proposals ranging from scrapping one of the windows to re-introducing mini tours where teams still play three tests in the June and November windows but also cram in mid-week fixtures.
As well as the logistics of shifting the furniture, the governing body will also have to make sure individual nations can still make serious money from test football.
The existing model sees host nations pocket all gate money but a revenue sharing scheme will almost certainly have to be introduced.
The prospect of establishing one test window has been welcomed by Rob Nichol, head of the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association, who has been a strong advocate for change.
Since 2000, Nichol has highlighted the need for players to have a longer off-season where they can initially rest and then recondition.
Nichol said: "We are delighted these issues are being discussed and there is an element of urgency and desire to get this sorted."
The Southern Hemisphere would prefer to see the November window retained and brought forward to finish in late October or early rather than late November.
That way, the Super 14 could run from mid-February to early June. The test players could have a few weeks off before the Tri Nations which would could continue to be played in July, August and early September.
The All Blacks could stay in camp post Tri-Nations and then play tests against Northern Hemisphere opponents in October-November.
That would create the ideal scenario of having the test players assembled with their Super 14 franchises for six months and the All Blacks for five months uninterrupted. With the season finishing in early November, the players could have four weeks off before beginning conditioning programmes with their franchises in December.
The other attraction is the cross-hemisphere tests might be linked into World Cup seeding, making them crucial fixtures.
Miller says the plan is for the IRB to come up with options in the next few months and then let member unions decide if they want change.
"The game has gone through exponential growth so the current set-up has served everyone well. No one wants to see change for change's sake but it is appropriate to evaluate whether the present system is the right one to go forward."
