Relegation should be introduced into the Six Nations to boost the tournament's appeal, English rugby officials suggested today.
Launching an eight-year plan for the English game which also includes a bid for the 2007 World Cup, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said introducing relegation and promotion to the event would give Europe's smaller nations a chance to compete.
"We are anxious to say to the Six Nations Committee that we have the best competition in the world," RFU management board chairman Brian Baister said.
"At the moment it is focussed at the top end on who will win the championship. Imagine what sort of competition it would be if it were also focussed on the bottom end in terms of promotion and relegation."
At the moment the team which finishes bottom of the five-round round-robin tournament just faces the tag of having won the "wooden spoon" but stays in the competition.
Introducing relegation and promotion would mean setting up a second division of teams which would probably involve countries such as Romania, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.
England said it was planning a bid for the 2007 World Cup, adding that its financial plans for the future were aimed at winning it. The next World Cup takes place in Australia in 2003.
No northern hemisphere team has won the tournament since it started in 1987 with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa dominating the event.