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In recent times, the phrase ‘no off-season’ has become over used in rugby. At least, in the UK it has. Back in 2023 in the midst of a men’s World Cup, two seasons did indeed merge into one as lengthy preparation camps and warm-up games ran right from the end of the club season until the tournament itself which in turn overlapped with the start of the next club season.
In recent times, the phrase ‘no off-season’ has become over used in rugby. At least, in the UK it has. Back in 2023 in the midst of a men’s World Cup, two seasons did indeed merge into one as lengthy preparation camps and warm-up games ran right from the end of the club season until the tournament itself which in turn overlapped with the start of the next club season.
Therefore, with the announcement of the URC fixtures for the 2025/26 season on Wednesday, many British and Irish players will surely have breathed a sigh of relied that the league does not kick off until the end of September. For non-internationals, this is a whopping 19 weeks (131 days) between regular season games.
Even for the international non-Lions players, it is still a decent amount of time off. For example, there are 11 weeks between Wales’ 2nd test against Japan and the first URC game of next season, on top of a 6 week break between R18 of this season’s URC and Japan test 1. The only club that can claim to have significant player availability issues is Leinster, whose 12 Lions will have just the 8 weeks between the end of the tour in Australia and the commencement of the URC - but it turns out Leinster start off their season with a trip to South Africa, and history tells us they probably wouldn’t have made that trip anyway.
In the name of player welfare, we will all agree this is a good thing. However, there is a downside to these long breaks: If games aren’t being played, income isn’t being generated. In a world where clubs - particularly in England and Wales - are fighting for financial survival, is 19 weeks between competitive fixtures really a good thing?
The current URC and Premiership calendars guarantee clubs just 11 home games per season (9 league, 2 European cup). Less than one per month on average. Many would argue that this is not enough. In recent times we have seen clubs arrange exhibition matches against the likes of Super Rugby teams, the Barbarians and international A sides to make up the deficit. English clubs are also able to bolster their calendar with Premiership Cup games.
But for the Welsh regions, long stretches without home games have become the norm. Taking an extreme example: By the time the Dragons play their first URC home game of 25/26 they will have played just one game at Rodney Parade in Newport from the 16th of February to the 3rd of October. 229 days. One home game.
That’s not only bad for income, it’s not what fans want. UK fans are accustomed to the football paradigm where there’s at least one home game every other week (often more) August to May. It happens elsewhere in the world for Rugby, too. In France, the ProD2 has 15 homes games a season, play-offs excluded. That’s 7 months of the year (excluding a couple of short breaks) with a home game every other week. Fans can therefore get into the habit of going to the match - it simply becomes how they spend their Friday nights.
Is it definitely right for all players, too? In New Zealand and South Africa, whilst the All Blacks and Springboks are away touring the world, the remaining franchise players drop down to NPC and the Currie Cup respectively. This allows players to keep their game time up, which is particularly important for young players learning their craft. Those two nations have dominated rugby pretty much forever, so clearly this style of calendar isn’t hurting them. By contrast, the Welsh, Scottish and Irish step 2 calendars (AIL, Super Rugby Cymru etc) all run concurrent with the pro calendars.
Sadly, a re-jig of the calendar to facilitate more club games feels impossible. The northern hemisphere calendar is, and always has been, a total mess. The flicking between international, European and league fixtures is contrived and irritating. Compared to the streamlined southern hemisphere calendar of Super Rugby/Japan League One/MLR -> Summer tests -> Rugby Championship/Pacific Nations Cup -> Autumn tests, it’s a disaster.
Perhaps the French have it right, playing the TOP14 for as much as possible even if it means clashing with internationals. Given they have the most valuable and best attended league in the world, have dominated the European Cups for half a decade, beaten the All Blacks 3 times in a row and finished in the top 2 of the Six Nations for 5 years in a row, you’d say they must be doing something right.
Does the game time of players need to be careful managed to ensure they stay fit and healthy? Yes, of course. Absolutely. No argument here. Is 11 home games a year, with the possibility of 7 weeks mid-season with zero home games, enough to keep clubs financially healthy, fans interested and players sharp? Doesn’t feel like it.