Rugby Football Union Chair Andy Cosslett said that the financial implications the RFU "could suffer for moving England matches away from Twickenham to raise the sport's profile in the country outweighs the potential benefits of northern tests," according to Shravanth Vijayakumar of REUTERS. After the success of hosting a World Cup match against Uruguay in Manchester last year, "the RFU has come under pressure" to host more senior int'l matches away from London. Cosslett: "It's not simply a case of would you like to do it, because as a Mancunian, of course I would and everybody had a great day at the Etihad. But the Union has demands on its finances." Despite "widespread support for the idea," the RFU has confirmed "there are no plans to stage home England tests away from Twickenham." Cosslett added, "The record investment we've been able to put into the game is because we've got financial stability and Twickenham games with 82,000 people are a big contributor to that" (REUTERS, 11/3). In London, Gavin Mairs reported Cosslett confirmed Test matches will "continue to be held at Twickenham because of financial commitments" and because of the 15,000 debenture holders at the stadium. He said, "We’re about to move into the next strategic review and I’ve no doubt that as part of that process there’s a conversation to be had about this. I completely get it and I understand the impact that it would have, but it’s getting that balance right and understanding the financial implications" (TELEGRAPH, 11/2).
LESS IS MORE: In London, Robert Kitson reported the RFU wants fewer int'l fixtures scheduled after '19 to "help reduce the strain on the game’s leading players." RFU CEO Ian Ritchie said that he would "back any proposal to cut the volume of Test rugby played worldwide." Ritchie warned of "inevitable financial implications for the global game, however, if drastic changes are made" to the fixture list. He said, "I do accept that when we’re discussing the global season [any] agreement has to look at a reduction in the number of matches played. We’ve got to do more than pay lip service to player welfare but you have to accept an economic hit somewhere along the line" (GUARDIAN, 11/2).
