Rugby-England's Earl calls for Nations Championship changes


Rugby Union - Nations Championship - Fiji v England - Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool, Britain - July 11, 2026 England's Ben Earl applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough

July 21 (Reuters) - Ben Earl ⁠called for a change to the Nations Championship ⁠format after England's "brutal" start to their campaign with ‌tests in three different continents on successive weekends.

England began with a 45-21 defeat by South Africa in Johannesburg, before flying to Liverpool for ​a 73-8 home win over Fiji ⁠and then claiming a ⁠31-24 victory away over Argentina in South America.

"It's been brutal, ⁠there's ‌no two ways about it. We've been speaking about it – why would we not all be ⁠playing in one country," Earl told British ​media on Monday.

"So ‌you just don't travel, you go to one ⁠nation and have ​that festival feel. I'm not paid to make those decisions but it has been tough. It's been tough coming ⁠at the end of what's been quite ​a long season anyway for most of us.

"It's been back and forth, coming back to England, seeing your families and ⁠then going away again. It has seemed a bit weird but it's just something we're going to have to get used to because I think it's just the ​beginning."

England are third in the Northern ⁠Hemisphere standings in the Nations Championship, level on points ​with Ireland.

They next face Australia, Japan ‌and New Zealand in November, with ​all three matches taking place in London.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Mumbai; Editing by Neil Fullick)

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