Where to watch the Rugby World Cup 2023 was not the only live question this weekend, because the Nations Championship opened with New Zealand against France in Christchurch. Dave Rennie made his first selection as All Blacks coach for the opening Test, and the tournament immediately exposed the travel load waiting for sides on both sides of the draw.
Christchurch opens the contest
New Zealand started with Will Jordan back from injury on the right wing, Ardie Savea at No 8, and Cam Roigard and Ruben Love at half-back. That gave Rennie a settled core for the first Test of the Nations Championship at the new stadium in Christchurch.
France were missing their Toulouse contingent after Toulouse won the Top 14 last weekend. Bordeaux-Bègles had won the Champions Cup last weekend, so France turned to players from that side instead. Damien Penaud returned on the wing and Maxine Lucu captained France.
Wales and Fiji travel load
The wider schedule is the part that will draw the sharpest scrutiny. The Nations Championship brings six teams from the north against six from the south, and the opening weekend sets up cross-hemisphere travel across the next two or three weeks for several sides.
Fiji were singled out as the southern team playing all their games in the north, specifically the UK, while Wales were due to move from one Test to another across San Juan and Durban. Louis Rees-Zammit was described as likely to do most to fill Fiji’s coffers on the ticket-sales front, a reminder that the commercial sell is running alongside the travel demands.
World Rugby and player welfare
The competition is being sold as a new global contest, but the player welfare argument sits awkwardly beside the itinerary. World Rugby has faced criticism over that point before, and this format hands Wales, Fiji, Australia and Ireland very different travel patterns from the opening weekend onward.
Australia were due to play Ireland in Sydney, with Sam Prendergast earning a recall at fly-half. For readers tracking the competition from the start, the first clear takeaway is simple: Christchurch has opened the tournament, but the harder part for Wales and Fiji is still ahead.
