Club World Cup: A gimmick, or true test for rugby's best?

THE journey to a possible rugby version of the Club World Cup got off to a shaky start last week.

- ASHFAK MOHAMED

The Telegraph newspaper in London, who has previously reported on the progress of such a tournament, wrote last Friday that a 16-team event was set to be held at the end of the 2027-28 season.

Those developments came out of talks in Cardiff ahead of the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup finals in Cardiff last weekend.

Then the organisers, the EPCR (European Professional Club Rugby), sent out a belated media statement on Saturday, with the headline: “EPCR Chairman Dominic McKay confirms Rugby World Club Cup to launch in 2028, with support from all unions and both hemispheres.”

McKay went on to add that the EPCR have been speaking about a Club World Cup for the last two to three years, and that everyone was “unanimous” about the new competition.

It is envisaged that the tournament would include eight teams from the Champions Cup, and eight from across Super Rugby Pacific and Japanese club rugby.

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer then told Afrikaans newspaper Rapport that while he does support the venture, the “announcement is somewhat premature” as there was a lot of details missing, and that the financials must be sorted out, and that “no broadcasting rights or sponsorships have been sold” as yet.