French are told to go it alone

News: The organiser of this year's Rugby World Cup has told France it should dump Scotland, Ireland and Wales from its plans for hosting the 2007 tournament.

France has agreed that Dublin, Cardiff and Edinburgh will each stage three pool games with a quarter-final at the Millennium Stadium but John O'Neill, the chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), said France should stage the event on its own.

Stadium contracts are not due to be signed until next year and France's commitment could still be rescinded.

"One of the main lessons of the last two months is that it is far better for the game to hold a World Cup in one country," said O'Neill. "My message to France would be that it would be in everyone's interests if they staged the next event on their own.

"I do not think there would be any problem taking matches off Ireland and Scotland, but what no one realised until last April was that Wales are guaranteed 20 per cent of the profits every time the event is staged in Europe because of a deal they struck in 1999. I am sure they can be financially compensated."

The International Rugby Board (IRB) will make more than €70 million from this year's event, with the ARU banking some €26 million, but O'Neill said his union would barely have made a profit had they co-hosted the tournament with New Zealand as had been agreed.

The French Rugby Federation president Bernard Lapasset has said he will study a detailed report on the last eight weeks before finalising his decision but the IRB chairman Syd Millar said he expected the 2007 World Cup to go ahead as planned.

"The travelling time will be less than going from Perth to Sydney, for example," Millar said. "It has almost been like hosting the tournament in three countries this time with the western, central and eastern areas of Australia in different time zones."

Meanwhile, O'Neill has helped draw up a plan for a cup to be held in Europe every two years from 2006 to be competed for by the four home unions, France, Italy and the three major Southern Hemisphere nations.

The "Nine Nations" idea was presented by SANZAR, the governing body for rugby in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, who are looking to move away from the current November tour format of one-off tests in order to make the end of season trips more meaningful.

"The games would be played in November and would not be a threat to the World Cup," said O'Neill. "Every other year, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand would go on a proper tour with three tests and three midweek matches.

"The three SANZAR countries have come up with this plan and it is something worth looking at. It would generate a lot of interest and money with games played on a round-robin basis in all of the six nations."

Such a tournament, featuring all the major powers, would surely raise questions about the validity of the World Cup and the future of the game's minnows and excluded cusp team Argentina.

"The fine details still have to be worked out, but we are stressing if it comes off, it will not threaten the World Cup," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"I have had discussions with officials from Tonga, Samoa, Argentina, USA and Canada about improving the position of the minor nations.

"We cannot forget these countries because they remain the heart and soul of the game. SANZAR remains committed to helping them."

Meanwhile, Wales rugby union coach Steve Hansen is to quit after next year's Six Nations Championship.

The New Zealander said yesterday he would honour a two-year contract signed in 2002 to see out the tournament before returning home, as planned, at the end of April 2004.

Hansen also ruled himself out of the running for the All Blacks coaching job saying: "I'm not applying for that. I've a job to do here (Wales). It's a job I want to do and want to finish."