I'm trying to think of a way that they could create a credible multi-year test league, that has integrity (even-ness of competition and geographical symmetry).
This is my back of the envelope effort.
A 3 year league.
- Expand TRC to include 3 PI Nations & teams playing each other once per year(6 games each).
- Expand 6 Nations to include 1 more team (Georgia) playing each other once year (6 games each),
- June and November tour windows remain, but each participant plays the other 7 hemispheric participants home an away over 3 years That is 14 of the possible 18 slots over 3 years of June/Nov windows.
So 14 teams play a competition over 3 years. 32 games each (10.7 of their 12 tests per year over the 3 years are part of the world league).
The 32 games consistent of 3 each v same hemisphere participants, and 2 each v inter-hemisphere.
I can't work out a way to include Japan, USA and Canada that is geopgraphically acceptable to me. You could add a North Pacific Conference but it would make the league uneven. Or re-work it some way.
The other disadvantage of my proposal is it locks out the other T2 and T3 countries (Romania, Spain, Uruguay, Zimababwe, Namibia etc) to scrapping for those 1.3 tests per year the 'big 14' play that aren't world league, plus world cup warm up friendlies in RWC year.
Financial hurdles:
a) a 7th team in the expanded 6 Nations is an extra week compared to their current schedule. Good luck getting that past the clubs without some serious compromise (e.g. money)
b) The TRC expanded to include the PIs.
- Player release for the PI nations in August and September.
- No longer home and away matches for the big 4 of the SH. (But we are currently talking temporary scaffolding at Nelson and half empty Gold Coast anyway).
- The PIs would need IRB subsidies for hosting & travel.
- splitting the TRC TV rights among 3 extra participants with small domestic markets.
c) Doesn't expand into the Japanese, American and Canadian markets.
Extra note. I haven't taken into account the British Lions tour every 4 years.