French reports suggest World Rugby shake-up

French newspaper Midi Olympique have reported that World Rugby plan to introduce a new 'League of Nations' format involving the top 12 teams in the world in place of the current November tours.

The brainchild of World Rugby vice-president Agustin Pichot will reportedly come to fruition in 2020 and will see an international competition that divides the 12 teams into four groups of three, with three pool games followed by a semi-final and final.

The new World League would reportedly be played alternately in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere each November.

Pichot proposed the idea in July at San Francisco's Rugby Sevens World Cup. Pichot presented the idea in a meeting New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Tew, French Rugby President Bernard Laporte and South Africa Rugby Union CEO Jurie Roux.