Rugby Championship with addition of two other nations – likely Fiji and Japan is now back on the table

The proposal for a 12-team competition bringing together the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship with the addition of two other nations – likely Fiji and Japan is now back on the table.

Re-elected World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont wants to introduce a variation of the competition which was initially called the Nations Championship.

Initially scheduled to launch in 2022, the Nations Championship was intended to revitalise traditional tours with a new tournament in which the top 12 international sides from both hemispheres would play each other annually, with the two best teams contesting a final.

Those plans were dropped last year when some Six Nations unions were opposed to the idea of promotion and relegation.

However, Beaumont has pledged to revisit them.