- Trophy would net welcome £5m windfall for RFU
- Big win in Italy would ‘put smiles on faces’ back home
England are in line for a much-needed windfall of around £5m if they clinch a third Six Nations title under Eddie Jones on Saturday. A bumper bonus-point win against Italy would put England in the box-seat before France host Ireland in the evening kick-off and would deliver a welcome financial boost for the Rugby Football Union if Jones’s side end up as champions.
The decision to cancel last week’s match against the Barbarians is set to cost the RFU up to £1m in lost TV money and sponsorship, and the union laid bare the financial strife caused by the pandemic in its annual report on Friday, which showed an operating loss of £10.8m recorded for the last financial year.
