The next 12 months are likely to determine the future of international rugby for the next 12 years.

Soundings from within unions in both the northern and southern hemispheres suggest that Test rugby is facing perhaps its most seminal moment since the game turned professional in 1995.

After a brief hiatus following the collapse of the negotiations over a radical world league proposal last year, the momentum, in a large part due to the success of the World Cup in Japan, is growing again. Change is in the air and minds are open. There is a widespread acceptance that the global season needs to be improved, with greater alignment, more meaningful matches for those outside of the Six Nations and Rugby Championship.

There is a desire, too, to change the international window for the women’s Six Nations, so that it does not go head to head with the men’s version, opening up the potential for a new broadcasting deal and title sponsor.

The fact that France’s latest women’s Six Nations matches, against England and Italy, attracted peak audiences of 1.9 million and 1.2 million respectively on French terrestrial television, has opened eyes to the potential growth if the tournament was shown across Europe on a free-to-air format.