These are your evening rugby headlines on Tuesday, November 21st.
BBC warns it won’t be able to afford Six Nations
The BBC could lose its coverage of the Six Nations amid spiralling costs and a fall in income, MPs have been warned.
Barbara Slater, who is leaving her position as the broadcaster’s director of sport, told the Digital, Media and Sport select committee that the corporation faced “incredibly difficult decisions” on whether to keep coverage of the annual championship on their channels, admitting that they were “probably not going to be the highest bidder” for the tournament.
While the championship has traditionally been free to air in the UK, it is not one of Ofcom’s listed events, which are protected from being taken off terrestrial TV. Examples include Wimbledon, the Olympics, the Grand National and even the men’s Rugby World Cup final – but the Six Nations is not afforded the same protection.
The bombshell comes amid fears that rugby’s TV rights could soon be sold as a bundle following the ratification of the bi-annual World Rugby Nations Championships, which will start in 2026. The Telegraph have reported that the creation of the new tournament could see a number of rights – including those to the Premiership, Championship and Six Nations – aggregated and sold, with coverage moving from free-to-air TV.
Such aggregation would threaten the continuation of a deal struck by the BBC and ITV in 2015, which saw them share the rights to the Six Nations to avoid it being lost to pay TV. That agreement currently stands until the end of the 2025 tournament.
The tournament may still be shown on ITV in the future, however, with the Rugby World Cup broadcaster already showing all of England, Ireland, Italy and France’s home matches during the Six Nations, due to rising fees for the BBC.
Addressing the select committee on Tuesday, Slater laid out the stark reality facing the BBC as she admitted it was becoming increasingly challenging to maintain its current levels of sport broadcasting. Claiming that costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years, she added that the future of the channel’s association with the Six Nations remained to be decided.
“We need a well-funded BBC if we are going to be able to continue to afford sports rights,” she said. “Sports rights in the UK have more than doubled in the past decade. BBC’s income in real terms has gone down 30 per cent. It is incredibly difficult for the BBC to maintain, across a range of sports, the expectations of those governing bodies.”
“With the Six Nations, like anything, we will have to assess the affordability at the time,” she added. “Because it is very difficult for the BBC, on that trajectory of income, to continue to afford everything that we have. The truth is we’re probably not going to be the highest bidder, and it will come down to individual governing bodies as to how they balance that reach and revenue.”
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Lydiate faces fresh setback
Wales flanker Dan Lydiate is set to be ruled out until the end of the year as the Dragons’ injury list grows longer ahead of their trip to South Africa.
Dai Flanagan’s side will face the Sharks and the Lions in the URC over the next two weekends but will do so without a host of key players, with 14 of the 30 man squad set to not make the journey.
35-year-old Lydiate – who represented Wales at his third World Cup this autumn – is among them, having suffered a fractured rib and a dislocated finger in the 33-10 defeat to Leinster earlier this month. It is the latest setback for the forward, who has sustained a number of injuries in the twilight of his career, with a horror knee injury and a broken arm sidelining him since his return to Test rugby in 2021.
But Flanagan is hopeful that the forward will be able to make a speedy recovery as he shared the grisly details of Lydiate’s injury.
“Dan has fractured a rib and that is a six-week injury for a normal human being, I am sure he will be back quicker,” the coach said. “He said that he did it early in the Leinster game and that he was pushing it in and it was popping out, while he also dislocated a finger and put it back in when he was running. I have never seen anything like it
“He was superb at the end of last season for the Ospreys against us,” he added. “He looked like he has for Wales, like a player with a spring in their step and a new lease of life.”
Flanagan will also be without injured Wales internationals Ben Carter (hamstring), Leon Brown (calf) and Elliot Dee (rib) for the visit to South Africa, while flanker Taine Basham is suspended. Harri Ackerman, Jack Dixon, Rodrigo Martinez, Angus O’Brien, Josh Reynolds, Jared Rosser, David Richards and Joe Westwood will also not make the journey as the Dragons look to build on their monumental derby win over the Ospreys.
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Ex-England coach sacked after seven games
Former England coach Richard Cockerill has been brutally axed by Montpellier just seven games into the Top 14 season.
Cockerill was part of Eddie Jones’ England coaching staff after joining the national set-up in September 2021 and became interim head coach when the Australian was sacked at the end of last year. However, he decided not to continue in his previous role under new coach Steve Borthwick and headed for France after being offered an opportunity “too good to turn down” with the reigning league champions.
However, his time in France has been abruptly ended just three months after his first match in charge. His sudden dismissal comes days after disgraced former World Rugby vice-president Bernard Laporte was appointed director of rugby at the club and initiated an immediate overhaul of the coaching staff, with defence coach Jean-Baptiste Elissalde also being sacked.
Montpellier have struggled for form, winning just one of their seven league matches so far this season – a shock victory over European champions La Rochelle. But after six successive defeats, a 23-16 loss to fellow strugglers Perpignan left Cockerill’s side bottom of the table, with Laporte – who last year was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence for bribery and corruption – acting swiftly having been brought in by club owner and close friend Mohed Altrad.
Cockerill has been replaced by former Toulon and Brive head coach Patrice Collazo.
England given Six Nations boost
England star Ben Earl is set to be available for the Six Nations after his knee injury proved not to be as serious as feared.
The No.8 – who was his country’s standout player during the Rugby World Cup – sustained the injury during the warm-up ahead of Saracen’s win over Harlequins and he was seen leaving The Stoop on crutches to set alarm bells ringing for England fans.
But following a scan, it appears Earl will be fit and ready in time for the start of the tournament in February, with the 25-year-old undergoing a “minor procedure” to repair medial meniscus damage.
“Ben had a minor knee procedure this morning, said Sarries director of rugby Mark McCall. “We anticipate he’ll be out for between four to six weeks. Overall I think that would be a good result.
“We’re all pleased it’s not a serious long-term injury. I think he will be playing in the month of January. “There are three or four games in January so that would be ample time for Ben to get in.
“He’s had a busy time with a lot of minutes in August, September and October,” he added. “So to have a six-week period not playing rugby might actually be good for him in the long run.”
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