RFU will need government bailout if England don't play until next summer

The Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney has warned it would be a “catastrophe” if next year’s Six Nations is hit by the coronavirus, admitting the organisation would need a government bailout if England do not play again until next summer. Sweeney revealed the union is facing losses of at least £100m if England’s autumn internationals are played behind closed doors – a figure which rises to £122m if they are cancelled – and if next year’s Six Nations is similarly impacted, he conceded “we would have to come to the government for support”. Sweeney revealed that even if England’s autumn fixtures go ahead as planned the RFU stands to lose £47m. Slideshow: The most popular sporting image from the year you were born (Grid) “Twickenham is a major asset for us. If we get into asituation where we’re talking about Six Nations matches in February and March next year impacted there’s a limit to what we can do independently – we would have to come to governmentforsupport.” Sweeney however, continues to plan for the autumn fixtures to go ahead, along with England’s postponed Six Nations match against Italy.