World rugby
Saliva test a 'game-changer' in rugby's fight against concussion
Concussion has become a major concern within the contact sport as fears grow about the impact of its increasing ferocity on elite-level players.
Sixteen teams will be involved and the competition will take place within a new September-October global window, except in a World Cup year.
With international rugby taking a big hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing less matches and certainly less tours and tournaments, the 2020 awards saw fans vote for their favourite tries and players of the decade.
Former All Blacks John Kirwan and Christian Cullen, along with ex-Wallabies Phil Kearns and Tim Horan, argued that red cards were 'ruining the spectacle' as referee Nic Berry's strict application of the laws took the gloss off Australia's upset 24-22 victory.
England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) is traditionally the wealthiest in the northern hemisphere.
Both players, who took New Zealand to World Cup glory in 2011 and 2015, are three-time winners of the World Player of the Year Award.
The governing body said it had called off the Sydney and Hamilton rounds of the World Sevens Series scheduled for January “due to the ongoing and dynamic global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
World Rugby vice-president Bernard Laporte told French newspaper 'Le Progres' that the Springboks would replace Japan in the European tournament, which has been organised in place of the usual November internationals.
The hosts of the four Rugby World Cups will be announced in May 2022.
All parties, including unions, club competitions and players, remain committed to continued dialogue regarding the long-term harmonisation of the international calendar for the betterment of all.
The report, from lobby group Pacific Rugby Player Welfare, called for an independent review of the May election, when incumbent World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont of England defeated Argentina's pro-reform candidate Agustin Pichot.
Twelve teams have already qualified by virtue of their top-three finishes in their respective pools at last year’s World Cup.
The trials are designed to reduce contact in rucks, scrums and mauls by 25%-50% and unions will be allowed to implement temporary law amendments at elite or community levels of the game.
Francis Baron, a former chief executive of England's Rugby Football Union, put forward a scheme to stage a 16-team invitational tournament to be staged in Britain and Ireland next June and July based on the 2015 World Cup hosted by England.
Monitoring of the potential impact on the remaining 2020 international windows continues in collaboration with international rugby stakeholders and the respective authorities.
From now on the post protector will no longer be considered an extension of the goal-line.
Eanna Falvey said domestic, provincial or club games would likely return first, progressing to Tests, with Australia and New Zealand best-placed to get the ball rolling.
Beaumont, 68, who campaigned on the promise of opening up the sport, claimed 28 of the 51 votes to overcome the 45-year-old Pichot who planned to modernise the body and used the hashtag #GlobalGame on social media.
Media reports have raised the possibility of a cash rescue for Rugby Australia, which is facing serious financial difficulties and has been locked in pay talks with player representatives this week.