Report: The First Club World Cup Could Take Place in 2022

The first-ever Club Rugby World Cup could take place as soon as 2022 with plans to be presented to World Rugby, according to a Midi Olympique report.

Last year, World Rugby vice president Bernard Laporte floated the idea of a Club Rugby World Cup with teams featuring from the TOP 14, Premiership, Super Rugby, PRO14, Top League and Major League Rugby.

In his initial plans, Laporte wanted the tournament to take place annually with the Champions Cup falling away. However, according to the new report the plans have been altered with the competition only taking place every four years.

The new development in the plans for the competition is that the governing body of the Champions Cup, the EPCR, have come on board with the idea and have been mandated to outline the proposal to World Rugby chiefs.

The first edition of the competition is said to be hosted in England with the Champions Cup therefore not taking place in 2022, resuming a year later, to free up space in the calendar for the tournament.

Midi Olympique goes on to note that CVC Capital Partners, who have bought shares in the Six Nations, PRO14 and Premiership, are keen for the ideal to materialise and are also in talks with TOP14 presidents over an investment in the TOP 14.

In Laporte's initial proposal, the Club World Cup involved four pools of five teams, made up of four from the Premiership, the Pro14 and the Top14, six from Super Rugby (which would now be proportioned differently with South Africa's departure from the tournament) and one each from the USA and Japan.

Full report on Midi Olympique