The organisers of the United Rugby Championship (URC) and the unions of the five competing countries, including the IRFU, appear to be on something of a collision course regarding the timeframe for the 2022-23 competition, and specifically the proximity of its knock-out stages to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
The latter is kicking off two weeks earlier than was the case in 2019 to accommodate a longer tournament of eight weeks rather than six, with France entertaining New Zealand in the Stade de France on September 8th. Ireland open their campaign against Spain in Bordeaux the following day.
The northern hemisphere season finishes later than ever this summer, with the URC and Premiership finals taking place on June 18th, and the Top 14 final a week later on June 25th. Due to the proximity of the World Cup, so as to facilitate a proper off-season, pre-season and warm-up games (Ireland are looking to play the first of two or three warm-up games on August 6th next year), the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Premiership Rugby Limited (PRL) have agreed to bring forward the 2022-23 seaso …
- April 27, 2022
