Former All Blacks Weigh In on Rugby’s Future
Former All Blacks Jeff Wilson, Sir John Kirwan, and Justin Marshall have said that they support the idea of reinstating prolonged international tours that would see Test teams facing off against Provincials and Club Sides in clashes in the middle of the week.
The future of Rugby the world over is currently being assessed as a result of the financial devastation the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has wreaked. It has put an incredible amount of economic pressure on organisations the world over as the sport came to a screeching halt in the middle of March.
The financial implications of the virus have seen the feasibility of contests like Super Rugby called into question. This League was one of many that have to start issuing redundancies and slashing salaries in an attempt to stay afloat.
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Wilson suggested that one solution to help regain fans’ interest in the sport is in the form of old-school tours. The kind of things that would see the All Blacks playing a three-match Test Series as well as fixtures against local outfits mid-week. He stated that he views this whole situation as a huge opportunity not just for actual players, but for everyone, spectators included.
He said that there is almost certainly a hunger to see South Africa come back to our country, for example, to play a three-test series. He revealed that he looks back to his first tour with the team, in 1993, as an enormously special moment in time.
