Six Nations: Cooke rubbishes Tri-Nations proposal

Geoff Cooke has rubbished calls for England and France to join the southern hemisphere's Tri-Nations series - at least in the short term.

Under the proposals England and France would take on Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in the annual tournament, played on a home-and-away basis.

But Cooke, who managed England from 1987 to 1994, believes the only way the series could get off the ground would be through a total restructuring of the global game.

Cooke, now the chief executive at Worcester, told Ananova.com: "From a pure rugby point of view you have to think what a fantastic event it would be, but in reality you look at the total picture, and think how on earth could that be made to work.

"I honestly think we can go too much into this need to play the southern hemisphere countries, we play them more now than we have ever done before.

"We are getting the balance just about right, but we've just got to give our players a break in the summer.

"People have got to recognise we are not dealing with robots here, we're dealing with human beings and there's a limit to what they can take.

"The intenisty in the game at the moment that we've got too much in our own domestic game."

Cooke, who managed the British Lions tour to New Zealand in 1993, said the proposal from Australian Rugby Union managing director John O'Neill was driven by the southern hemisphere's jealousy of the success of the Six Nations competition.

He said: "It's all very well for the southern hemisphere to start with these proposals, they are jealous as hell of the Six Nations here, they recognise that the Tri-Nations, although it is a good competition, it would be great to have England and France in there.

"They're interested in a commercial proposition. If you can get the top-five countries in the world playing in a round-robin competition, that's fantastic from a rugby point of view, but something has got to give."

And Cooke hinted that if the proposal was given the go-ahead England and France would probably have to withdraw from the Six Nations.

He added: "You can't do both and that would mean that England and France would probably not play in the Six Nations you were to take on that sort of commitment and even then for the top players they've still got a heavy club programme and then they've got that daunting series of matches (eight internationals) which would be spread over the summer.

"I can't see it happening, not in the short-term.

"As part of a total restructuring of the global season it might be possible, but not as an add on to what we have already got."