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Six Nations set for April shift?

Cape Town - The northern hemisphere's premier international tournament is set for major changes, according the Welsh Rugby Union chairperson Gareth Davies.

The Six Nations organisers are set to meet in the coming weeks with many issues to be discussed, including the potential moving of the tournament to April, according to Davies.

Following Wales' mammoth 18 Test season, Davies believes a tweak of the schedule could be on the cards, even if just for the sake of the players.

"There's a Six Nations council meeting at the end of this month and this isn't to fuel speculation, it is an annual review of where the Six Nations sits,” said the former British and Irish Lions player on the BBC.

"So is it worth considering moving it? Do we look at bonus points, which is something that people have asked for to make it more exciting, scoring tries etc?

"Do we look at 'is it a closed shop for Six Nations?' Do we open the gates to Georgia, Romania or anybody else who is deemed worthy and is capable of being in there?

"So all those are up for grabs really."

While Davies recognises that the tournament is highly successful as it stands, he is under the impression that a schedule change could help move towards a more 'global' season.

"Moving the Six Nations - I don't see it as a problem if it helps other things," he added.

"I don't think we need to move it for the sake of it because it does work where it is now - it gets huge following, huge TV audiences etc.

"But if it were necessary to move it in order that it were a piece of the jigsaw that enabled northern and southern hemispheres to have a coherent global season, then it's worth doing."

Bill Beaumont, the World Rugby chairperson, stated in May that the competition could be moved to April to be more in line with the rest of the world.

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