Among the favourite phrases of the Rugby Football Union chief executive, Bill Sweeney, is “less is more”. The point being there is no need to shoehorn more fixtures into the rugby calendar to make it more profitable. There is a nod, too, to player welfare amid the concussion lawsuit but the idea is that there is more commercial appeal when something feels preciously rare.
It comes to mind because New Zealand’s visit to face England at Twickenham on Saturday is their first since 2018 and only their second since Ian Ritchie, one of Sweeney’s predecessors, told the All Blacks back in 2016 to “build a bigger stadium” rather than ask for more of the gate receipts.
