Planet Rugby’s bold predictions for 2024: Anglo-Welsh league on the cards, Eddie Jones to lead Japan to a win over tier one nation and more

Lawrence Nolan
Seven bold predictions for 2024.jpg

Japan head coach Eddie Jones and Georgia's players during the recent Rugby World Cup in France.

As 2024 shimmers into view on the horizon, we at PR Towers have cobbled together a list of seven rather bold predictions of events and decisions that could crop up over the next 12 months.

Bold they are: last year there was a hit-rate of only one out of seven! But implausible they are not. Well, not entirely…

English and Welsh teams will hold exploratory talks on a new Anglo-Welsh league as the player drain grows

It’s like this: much as English board members and club owners want to have a nice little club competition all of their own, the actual players are starting to realise that the tribal rivalries, feverish atmospheres and eurozone cultural opportunities are perhaps a more enriching life choice than wet and windy nights in England’s north east.

Meanwhile, as Welsh franchises find themselves evermore challenged by the fact that the actual money in rugby is mostly parked in private equity funds far, far across the Severn Bridge, the players in Wales will continue to hunt down opportunities for being paid out properly for their short careers elsewhere.

In short, the player drain from both countries will continue unabated.

But wait – tribal rivalries? How about rekindling that English v Welsh spirit! Feverish atmospheres? Imagine Parc y Scarlets faithful scenting a big win over the English, or Welford Road giving Cardiff a reception! OK, eurozone cultural opportunities aren’t there, but it feels like a richer league with a bit of zing to it than the current ring-fenced Premiership fare, not to mention being a more viable commercial option, especially for the Welsh teams.

If Newcastle Falcons go belly-up, do not discount this as an option that will be deeply explored.

Eddie Jones will lead Japan to victory over another tier one nation

He may be persona non grata in a handful of places and he’s not lost his caustic way, but he’s still Japan’s favourite rugby man. Armed with a suite of players that can only improve from the influx of talent into the domestic league and unburdened of the expectation that weighed constantly on him in England and Australia, Jones has a decent shot at bringing Japan forward once more.

It might come against England in June. But even if not, on the back of victory in the inaugural (in its new format) Pacific Nations Cup, Japan will likely be scheduled for at least two plum fixtures during November, one of which which could well end in a famous victory.

A South African team will win one of the European Cups

While it is a stretch to imagine the Bulls getting that far, the Stormers could get a decent shot at European glory if they can get to a home round of 16 tie and continue to successfully reintegrate their World Cup winners back into a talented squad.

Meanwhile, the Challenge Cup could be the Lions’ for the taking, while the Cheetahs are also looking strong (and have few other distractions). Wonder what Philippe Saint Andre will say about it all if this does happen!

The global tackle height throughout all levels of the game will be lowered to ‘below the nipple’ by the end of the year

If for no other reason than to rid the game of the interminable and contentious TMO referrals for unavoidable head contact moments and deliberations on intent. But also with the potentially ruinous high-profile court case on head injuries looming, World Rugby may look at the success of this around the world in its trials and conclude that rugby needs to evolve to accommodate the increased size and pace of players, as well as the increased number of collisions.

Argentina and Uruguay, and Spain and Portugal, to bid for 2035 World Cup

That Spain and Portugal (and probably Italy) are considering a bid is not entirely news and it would be a welcome move to bring the World Cup to further new territories. Imagine the fun to be had in Barcelona, Mardid, Lisbon, Porto…

Yet with the 2031 showpiece already set for the northern hemisphere, it would, in theory, be the turn of the south in 2035.

There’s little doubting the enthusiasm and talent from the South American countries and while it would clearly be an economic challenge for the respective governments, the neighbourly geography (Chile too), number of available and suitable stadia, and, most importantly, culinary and viticultural offerings of the countries would see the rugby public catered for on every level.

And with Agustin Pichot likely to be driving it on, this is a bid with some serious momentum behind it.

Georgia will be one of the nations invited to join the new international tournament in 2026

Although the smart money has been on Fiji and Japan in the wake of the former’s progress since the onset of the Drua and the latter’s commercial pull, Georgia – and possibly Portugal – should not be discounted.

Why? Well, as mentioned before, Japan and Fiji are both involved in a new-look Pacific Nations Cup, driven by World Rugby and featuring the USA, Canada and Tonga and Samoa too, which is likely to result in four or five Test matches for both Japan and Fiji already.

So to be added to the new World Rugby tier one tournament would mean their respective Test seasons would run almost uninterrupted from July to the end of November, featuring a huge amount of travel.

Meanwhile, Georgia are unlikely to be threatened as hegemons of the new Rugby Europe series, especially with Black Lion now giving a number of their squad higher-level run-outs in European competition. While the World Cup was underwhelming, it’s hard not to see the Lelos continuing to occupy rugby purgatory between beating everyone else in Europe and rarely getting a shot at anything higher.

But if the Pacific Nations Cup is a success, Japan or Fiji – particularly the latter – may not have the resource to compete in the World Rugby tournament as well, not least with so many of the Fijian players contracted to European teams. No such problem would apply to Georgia though.

The B&I Lions to add Argentina into the rolling schedule

Surely this has to happen sooner rather than later. With South Africa now attached almost umbilically to Europeat sub-international level, it’s certainly not inconceivable that the Lions might opt to push the South Africa tour in 2033 out by four more years and take the squad to face the Pumas in 2033 – an event made even more likely when Argentina and Uruguay prove successful in their 2035 World Cup bid (see what we did there…?)

READ MORE: The finest, funniest and most memorable rugby quotes of 2023

Argentina Eddie Jones

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