At long last the new world rugby calendar has been agreed and there are some major changes happening

It's a start.

World Rugby, for a good while now, have been in discussion with the various stakeholders all over the world about improving the global world rugby calendar. The ultimate aim is to increase the level of cohesion between the northern and southern hemisphere fixtures. It's an undoubtedly painstaking process with so many issues to take into consideration such as player welfare, television broadcasters, tournament organisers and the overall promotion of the game - to name but a few. World Rugby have today released a statement which outlines some of the proposed changes which will come into effect from 2020 onwards. One of the major changes is that the traditional June international Test window will be moved to July. This has long been an issue when it comes to a player welfare perspective as there has been complaints surrounding playing in high intensity Test matches off the back of a long and arduous season. At least now, there will be a decent period of time off for the players before they are involved in summer Test matches. [caption id="attachment_117070" align="alignnone" width="647"] Credit: World Rugby[/caption] The second major change is that Tier 2 nations, such as the ever-improving Georgia, will now have a higher number of matches against Tier 1 opposition, per year. A 39% increase in fact. Tier 1 countries will tour the Pacific Islands, Japan, Canada, the United States, Romania and Georgia. This is something which World Rugby have been pushing for a long time and will come as good news to the likes of Georgia who are constantly looking for opportunities to prove themselves against the very best. World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said: "Agreement on an optimised global calendar that provides certainty and sustainability over the decade beyond Rugby World Cup 2019 represents a historic milestone for the global game. "But more than that, this agreement has player welfare and equity at heart, driving certainty and opportunities for emerging rugby powers and laying the foundations for a more compelling and competitive international game, which is great for unions, players and fans." Discussions are set to continue regarding the duration of the Six Nations and the British and Irish Lions Tours.