by Nigel Melville
Nigel Melville Direct

A long day meeting with the Tier 2′s and hammering out schedules from 2013-2016, not an easy task as we discovered when each nation presented their challenges and needs going forwards. The Southern Hemisphere Regulation 9 window is not identical to the Northern Hemisphere, enforcing Regulation 9 can be difficult, we all wanted more games and more tests against Tier 1 teams etc..and of course we didn’t all agree on everything!

So we worked our way through our issues, the models outlined earlier today and by the end of the day we found a solution that may not work for everyone, but it provided a way forward and will provide us with a fixture schedule around which we can plan our program.

The IRB now have to take the work back to Dublin, share it with various committees and get final sign off. That shouldn’t take too long, we can then release the information.

With an impressive resume as player, coach and administrator, Nigel David Melville took over as CEO and President of Rugby Operations of USA Rugby, the National Governing Body of the sport in America, in 2006.  In addition to his full time job promoting the sport in the U.S., Melville has launched his own blog, Nigel Melville Direct, to further the discussion and his passion for what it will take to make the U.S. a great rugby playing nation.

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