Philip Browne the CEO of the IRFU was the special guest on Keith Wood's State of the Union Podcast on Off the Ball where he spoke about the global rugby calendar.

In an exclusive and wide-ranging chat the Irish Rugby chief executive committed to an interprovincial pre-season tournament, dismissed the notion of relegation in the Six Nations, while not dismissing South Africa joining in the future and was candid about the possibility of pay-cuts at the IRFU.

"Who knows what might happen in future?"

Philip Browne on South Africa potentially joining the Six Nations.#OTBAMhttps://t.co/mVpJniILir

— Off The Ball (@offtheball) May 28, 2020

Northern and southern hemisphere unions have already held early discussions on aligning the global rugby calendar. Michael Cheika and Andrew Mehrtens also spoke at length about the global calendar on a previous State of the Union Podcast.

Browne was a party to the discussions between the hemispheres and welcomed the proposal while suggesting it may not have a major impact on how the Irish Union operates.

"It's not so much of a help for Ireland," according to Philip Browne, "as we're in control of our players. It's really for those countries where there isn't the same level of control, particularly England.

"I think if you can decouple the club season from the international season it becomes much easier for the clubs to have clarity as to how they structure their competitions and knowing when they have their players.

"For us, it's different in that we can control our players, in terms of when they train and when they play. So from our point of view, if this is the way the rest of the rugby world wants to move, we shouldn't stand in the way of it.

"I think the big advantage for us is getting some sort of cohesion and coherence in place across the game it will increase the value of the game for sponsors, broadcasters and ultimately, hopefully, the rugby public as well.

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