Vice-chairman Augustin Pichot says World Rugby won't bail out SANZAAR nations that hit the financial skids, making it critical they extract themselves quickly from the coronavirus pandemic.

Pichot said the four leading southern hemisphere countries must work together to emerge from the crisis, citing a chilling scenario of Rugby Australia collapsing financially and sparking an international domino impact.

A season without Test rugby would be disastrous financially for the Wallabies and All Blacks. Credit:Getty

No rugby at all in 2020 for the Wallabies, All Blacks, Springboks and Pumas would create a combined financial deficit of about £400 million ($790m), Pichot estimated, something World Rugby couldn't hope to cover.

It made the battle to quell COVID-19 in timely fashion critical for the sport in the southern hemisphere whose unions, he said, must remain unified.