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Wales’s matches are all set to be on free to air next year(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\nThe latest rugby news from Wales and around the worldWales’s matches are all set to be on free to air next year(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\n
Here are your rugby evening headlines for Tuesday, December 2.<\/p>\n
Wales matches ‘to be shown on free-to-air TV’ as TNT gazumped<\/p>\n
ITV<\/a> is reportedly on the brink of securing every match of next year\u2019s inaugural Nations Championship in a stunning broadcasting coup worth more than \u00a380m, a move that would place Wales\u2019 entire 2026 schedule on free-to-air TV.<\/p>\n According to The Telegraph<\/a>, the broadcaster has dramatically outbid TNT Sports for the rights to the new global competition, which brings together the Six Nations<\/a> sides and their southern hemisphere rivals.<\/p>\n The bid is described as \u201cunprecedented\u201d for a new tournament and exceeds the \u00a363m ITV and the BBC<\/a> recently paid for a three-year Six Nations deal.<\/p>\n Sources quoted in the report described ITV\u2019s bid as \u201cmajor money\u201d that guarantees mass exposure for international rugby at a time when many major sports continue shifting behind paywalls.<\/p>\n Crucially for Welsh fans, it means Steve Tandy\u2019s side will be available to watch without subscription when they face Fiji, Argentina, South Africa, Japan, New Zealand and Australia across July and November.<\/p>\n In fact, every top level Test match involving the home nations will be free-to-air in 2026, with the Six Nations shown on ITV and the BBC.<\/p>\n The Nations Championship will see Wales open their campaign away to Fiji before travelling to Argentina and South Africa. They then host Japan, New Zealand and Australia in Cardiff<\/a> during a packed autumn window, all before a new finals weekend that pairs nations based on their rankings.<\/p>\n The Telegraph add that separate deals with terrestrial broadcasters in France and Ireland are also expected, meaning nearly the entire competition will be free-to-air across Europe.<\/p>\n The reported ITV deal would cover the first two tournaments in 2026 and 2028, dovetailing with the 2027 Rugby World Cup<\/a>, which ITV also holds the rights to.<\/p>\n Offer made for blockbuster cross-code international match<\/p>\n A proposal for England\u2019s rugby union and rugby league<\/a> sides to face each other in a blockbuster hybrid match is being considered by the Rugby Football League, according to The i.<\/a><\/p>\n The RFL has received an extraordinary \u00a31.5million offer from Australian promoters to stage an exhibition match between the two England national teams in 2026 \u2013 a fixture that could take place at either Twickenham or Wembley and revive interest in rugby league, which continues to battle financial strain in the UK.<\/p>\n The proposal comes from Hybrid Rugby, an Australian company chaired by Paul Franks, with backing from influential NRL figures and well-known rugby league personalities in Britain. Franks visited the UK in November, even meeting at least one Super League club about staging hybrid games between league and Premiership rugby sides.<\/p>\n Rugby League Commercial managing director Rhodri Jones confirmed the approach had been made.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have received an enquiry about Hybrid Rugby,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe\u2019ve not assessed it yet. There are a multitude of things we would need to consider, but if there is tangible benefit to the sport, we will.\u201d<\/p>\n He stressed that any club approached directly should refer proposals to the RFL or RL Commercial.<\/p>\n The match would combine the laws of both codes. Teams would play under rugby league rules inside their own half, switching to union laws once they cross halfway. Tries would be worth five points, conversions and penalties two, and drop goals one. A 60-second shot clock would govern each attacking phase in both halves of the field.<\/p>\n Organisers believe the concept could draw huge crowds, with the prospect of union stars like Maro Itoje and Tommy Freeman going up against league icons such as Herbie Farnworth and Kai Pearce-Paul.<\/p>\n Former referee chief demands severe Etzebeth punishment<\/p>\n Former Ireland referees\u2019 boss Owen Doyle has urged disciplinary chiefs to issue a heavy punishment to Eben Etzebeth after the South Africa star was sent off for an eye-gouge on Wales flanker Alex Mann.<\/p>\n Etzebeth was shown a permanent red card at the end of Wales\u2019 record 73-0 defeat in Cardiff after replays showed him driving his thumb into Mann\u2019s eye during a ruck. The Springboks star faces a disciplinary hearing today, with the outcome expected tomorrow.<\/p>\n World Rugby\u2019s sanctions for intentional or reckless contact with the eye are among the toughest in the sport, with the most serious offences carrying bans of up to four years. If the act is downgraded to \u201ccontact with the eye area\u201d, the punishment can fall as low as two weeks once mitigation is applied.<\/p>\n There have been claims circulating online that Etzebeth may have been retaliating, with a blurry screenshot purporting to show Mann making contact with his face earlier in the game. However, Mann has not been cited, and the Welsh flanker\u2019s name does not appear on the disciplinary list.<\/p>\n Writing in his Irish Times <\/a>column, Doyle dismissed any attempt to soften Etzebeth\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n \u201cWhichever way you look at it, it was an egregious act impossible to mitigate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are now suggestions Etzebeth himself was provoked, that he was the recipient of a prior gouge with some pretty inconclusive video footage doing the rounds.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it cannot be a question of an eye for an eye. That level of retaliation cannot be acceptable. We\u2019d all be livid if someone poked their finger into our eye, but to actually return the act is unthinkable.<\/p>\n \u201cIf provocation can be proved, then both gouges should be dealt with separately. Rugby cannot afford its judiciary to tread lightly on this one, there\u2019s too much to lose.\u201d Read more about the Etzebeth incident and hearing here.<\/a><\/p>\n *Sign up to WalesOnline’s <\/strong>free daily rugby newsletter here<\/strong><\/a> and our rugby <\/strong>WhatsApp channel here<\/strong><\/a> for all the breaking news. <\/strong>You can also follow us on social media on our <\/strong>X account<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> Instagram<\/strong><\/a> and<\/strong> TikTok.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n