Winners: Saint Petersburg (Cup); Liechtenstein (Bowl)
Headlines
13 March – The two
Paris-based clubs in the
Top 14,
Racing 92 and
Stade Français, announced plans to merge into a single club, effective with the 2017–18 season.[10]
16 March –
World Rugby announced details of a new global rugby calendar taking effect after the
2019 Rugby World Cup and running until 2032. Highlights include:[11]
The June
Test window will be shifted to July, allowing
Super Rugby to conduct an uninterrupted season.
The windows for November Tests and the Rugby World Cup will move forward by a week.
The new July Test window will include opportunities for "Tier 2" nations, among them Canada, Georgia, Japan, the Pacific islands, Romania, and the U.S., to host tours by Tier 1 national teams. WR stated that the number of annual matches between Tier 1 and Tier 2 national teams would increase by nearly 40 percent.
In the years following Rugby World Cups,
SANZAAR nations (
Rugby Championship participants) will only play two July Tests.
19 March – Racing 92 and Stade Français announced that their planned merger had collapsed following major resistance, including a strike by Stade players.[12]
9 April – Super Rugby organiser SANZAAR announced that the competition would drop three of its 18 teams after the 2017 season. Australia will lose one of its five teams, and South Africa two of its six. The affected unions were to determine which franchises would be axed.[13]
10 April –
RugbyWA, the governing body for the sport in
Western Australia and operator of the
Western Force, one of two Australian sides in danger of being axed from Super Rugby, announced that it had brought legal action against the
Australian Rugby Union regarding the process of determining the franchise to be contracted.[14]
10 May – World Rugby announced significant reform of its Regulation 8, which covers international eligibility:[15]
From 31 December 2020 forward, the required period of continuous residency in a country for purposes of international eligibility will increase from three years to five. (This only applies if a player does not qualify for that country by birth, or by the birth of a parent or grandparent in said country.)
Effective immediately, individuals with 10 years of cumulative residency in a country who are not previously tied to another national team will be eligible for that country, even if they do not meet the continuous residency requirement.
Effective 1 January 2018, a member union cannot nominate its under-20 national team as its "A" side. This means that playing on or against a U-20 national team will not bind the player to that country at senior level. (Note that a 15-a-side match cannot bind a player to a given national union unless both the player's team and its opposition are senior or "A" national sides.)
Effective 1 July 2017, rugby sevens players will not be tied to a national union until either of the following events occurs:
They play for a senior national sevens team after reaching age 20.
They represent a national team in the Olympic sevens tournament or Rugby World Cup Sevens after reaching age 18.
30 June –
BBC Wales reported that the
Cheetahs and
Southern Kings, the two most likely South African teams to be dropped from Super Rugby, would join the European
Pro12 competition as early as the
2017–18 season.[16]
1 August – Pro12 organiser Celtic Rugby Limited announced that the Cheetahs and Southern Kings would be added to the renamed
Pro14 competition from the 2017–18 season forward.[18]
Winners: Saint Petersburg (Cup); Liechtenstein (Bowl)
Headlines
13 March – The two
Paris-based clubs in the
Top 14,
Racing 92 and
Stade Français, announced plans to merge into a single club, effective with the 2017–18 season.[10]
16 March –
World Rugby announced details of a new global rugby calendar taking effect after the
2019 Rugby World Cup and running until 2032. Highlights include:[11]
The June
Test window will be shifted to July, allowing
Super Rugby to conduct an uninterrupted season.
The windows for November Tests and the Rugby World Cup will move forward by a week.
The new July Test window will include opportunities for "Tier 2" nations, among them Canada, Georgia, Japan, the Pacific islands, Romania, and the U.S., to host tours by Tier 1 national teams. WR stated that the number of annual matches between Tier 1 and Tier 2 national teams would increase by nearly 40 percent.
In the years following Rugby World Cups,
SANZAAR nations (
Rugby Championship participants) will only play two July Tests.
19 March – Racing 92 and Stade Français announced that their planned merger had collapsed following major resistance, including a strike by Stade players.[12]
9 April – Super Rugby organiser SANZAAR announced that the competition would drop three of its 18 teams after the 2017 season. Australia will lose one of its five teams, and South Africa two of its six. The affected unions were to determine which franchises would be axed.[13]
10 April –
RugbyWA, the governing body for the sport in
Western Australia and operator of the
Western Force, one of two Australian sides in danger of being axed from Super Rugby, announced that it had brought legal action against the
Australian Rugby Union regarding the process of determining the franchise to be contracted.[14]
10 May – World Rugby announced significant reform of its Regulation 8, which covers international eligibility:[15]
From 31 December 2020 forward, the required period of continuous residency in a country for purposes of international eligibility will increase from three years to five. (This only applies if a player does not qualify for that country by birth, or by the birth of a parent or grandparent in said country.)
Effective immediately, individuals with 10 years of cumulative residency in a country who are not previously tied to another national team will be eligible for that country, even if they do not meet the continuous residency requirement.
Effective 1 January 2018, a member union cannot nominate its under-20 national team as its "A" side. This means that playing on or against a U-20 national team will not bind the player to that country at senior level. (Note that a 15-a-side match cannot bind a player to a given national union unless both the player's team and its opposition are senior or "A" national sides.)
Effective 1 July 2017, rugby sevens players will not be tied to a national union until either of the following events occurs:
They play for a senior national sevens team after reaching age 20.
They represent a national team in the Olympic sevens tournament or Rugby World Cup Sevens after reaching age 18.
30 June –
BBC Wales reported that the
Cheetahs and
Southern Kings, the two most likely South African teams to be dropped from Super Rugby, would join the European
Pro12 competition as early as the
2017–18 season.[16]
1 August – Pro12 organiser Celtic Rugby Limited announced that the Cheetahs and Southern Kings would be added to the renamed
Pro14 competition from the 2017–18 season forward.[18]