“Nothing is off the table” as to whether the 2021 Six Nations will be rescheduled, says Welsh Rugby Union interim chief executive Steve Phillips.
The 2020 Championship was finally completed last weekend after being delayed because of the Covid pandemic.
But with uncertainty over whether crowds will be allowed back in early 2021, the tournament could be moved.
“It’s trying to figure out what are the benefits – there is a live conversation about this,” said Phillips.
“The obvious questions are, by how long do you move it for, and what does that achieve?
“But of course then you do get season congestion so it’s anything but straightforward. But at least we’re across it. Nothing’s off the table.
“Like someone said to me, they managed to move the Olympics for a year so it’s not beyond us as a concept if we all align on it.
“It’s trying to find what the right answer is and not looking to move it without a definitive upside in so doing.”
Next year’s Six Nations is due to start on Saturday, 6 February with Italy hosting France and champions England at home to Scotland, while Wales face Ireland the following day.
The remaining games in the delayed 2020 tournament were recently played behind closed doors, as will matches in the forthcoming Autumn Nations Cup.
Phillips confirmed discussions with the Welsh and UK Governments were ongoing and said finance was crucial in the absence of spectators.
“Can we get through it? Yes we can, but it will be at what cost is the real point here,” Phillips added.
“The WRU needs to survive for all the obvious reasons, but in trying to adjust to do that it will be devastating on the community game and so forth.”
With Wales’ “firebreak” lockdown set to be lifted on Monday, 9 November, Phillips welcomed the resumption of junior activities such as tag and touch rugby.
Phillips said the WRU has decided not to follow their English counterparts in cancelling the domestic season.
The RFU has cancelled all senior rugby union competitions across England below the Championship for men and Premier 15s for women in 2020-21.
“We will not be rushing into making any such announcements because we’d rather persevere with the hope we can do something,” he said.
“Ideally, do we want competitive league rugby to return at the lower levels? Absolutely. But frankly it’s out of our control.”
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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