London Irish boss would welcome summer rugby

London Irish director of rugby Brian Smith would welcome any shift towards a summer-based rugby season.

It has long been argued that bringing the northern hemisphere season in line with the southern hemisphere would improve the quality of the Premiership because the game would be played on firm, fast surfaces.

Smith said: “My personal preference would be to get the whole global season aligned.

“You could have your domestic season then the international season following it.

“It would be a good thing for player welfare and that would line up very nicely for World Cups.

“That way there would also be no particular advantage for northern hemisphere or southern hemisphere teams.

“Normally going into a World Cup – and our game is geared for that – you get someone coming to the end of their season and another team that has just started.

“There is an argument that one country is worn out and the other could be underdone.”

A radical plan to change to a season starting in March and ending in November was debated by top clubs from the Premiership and France’s Top 14 after the 2011 World Cup saw sides stripped of their best players for the first two months of the domestic campaign.

That failed to receive enough support to get off the ground, but there is now a halfway-house proposal that has the backing of Premier Rugby as well as the International Rugby Players’ Association.

And that is to start in October rather than September, so that club rugby would continue through June, with the international tours taking place in July. The close season would then run through August and September.

The aim is to free up the calendar so that June tours would not interfere with the ever-expanding Super Rugby. Players would also have more clearly-defined slots in which to play club then international rugby.

Smith said: “Whenever you get conditions like they are (at the end of the season in England), you get a better product and we get a more open and attacking game.”

Detractors argue that rugby is a winter sport and part of its appeal in this country is the contrasting conditions that are thrown up in the course of a season.

Smith concedes: “There are 101 reasons why you would not do it, and who knows if it will ever happen? But I think it would be a very good idea.

“The scorelines over the last couple of weeks of the season in good conditions showed that it is not just the southern hemisphere teams that can play Super 15-style rugby.

“We can play that kind of rugby here as well, given the right conditions.”

Article source: http://www.express.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/436210/McCall-happy-to-escape-with-win

London Irish boss would welcome summer rugby