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World Cup expansion on the cards?
The noise out of Rugby HQ in Ireland suggest that World Rugby are seriously looking at the possibility of expanding the 2023 Rugby World Cup to include 24 teams instead of the usual 20. The last time the tournament expanded was in 1999, when the number of competitors climbed from 16 to 20.
The argument for supersizing the tournament is, of course, that it gives the opportunity for more nations around the world to be exposed to top flight rugby. When it comes to deciding the bottom seeded teams in the competition, there’s very little separating the countries that make the cut and those that don’t. Even if it only adds a couple of games against Tier 1 and 2 teams to the lower ranked teams’ rugby calendars, this would still be a huge boon for those nations.
The counter-argument, naturally, is that the tournament becomes bloated with teams who, realistically, have a snowball’s chance in hell of making the knockout rounds. As it stands, a mere 12 countries have qualified for the World Cup finals in its 28-year history, and already complaints emerge competition after competition from the Tier 1 coaches that their teams are undercooked when they reach the serious side of the competition.
If more teams are admitted to the World Cup, it will be imperative that the tournament structure does not end up a jumbling mess like some other competitions. When the first expansion took place, some 19 years ago, the decision was made to run with five pools of four – with the top two teams from each pool qualifying for the finals, alongside the highest ranked third placed team (Argentina, as it so happened).
Unusual as the decision was, it allowed for the round robin stages of the competition to be completed in only two and a half weeks – something which would have been impossible with four pools of five. With extra precautions taken over player welfare now, we may well see a similar situation arise if the World Cup does expand. Come 2019, each team will play four matches over three weeks, and it’s unlikely that World Rugby will want to extend the length of the tournament any more than the six weeks it will currently run for (including all finals matches).
Six pools of four, of course, would further frustrate the higher ranked teams who will end up with even fewer ‘meaningful’ games than they currently have. Whatever the result, increasing the number of competitors in the 2023 World Cup will have to be managed very carefully so as not to upset the balance of the quadrennial tournament.
European rugby gunning for quality over quantity In club rugby circles, it seems that expansion is out of the question. In fact, the Champions Cup could well be set to reduce the number of teams to avoid some of the supposedly more dour fixtures.
The Champions Cup currently includes 20 teams from across Europe (six teams from England, six from France and seven from the European Pro14 competitors, plus one extra team determined by a number of criteria), but it seems that many of the English clubs are unhappy with the current arrangement and want to drop at least one team from each of the feeder competitions.
Of course, if the Champions Cup has poor quality matches due to the low calibre of the competing teams, then the logical conclusion is that the Premiership Rugby, Top 14 and Pro14 competitions must also have primarily uninspiring games – an assertion that would upset many people.
In English circles, at the very least, a major shake up could be on the cards in the near future with the Premiership clubs recently considering a £275m offer from CVC Capital Partners for a controlling stake in the competition. Though ultimately rejecting the offer, you can bet that CVC and other private investors will be knocking on Premiership Rugby’s door in the future to try get a bite of the pie.
One way or another, English rugby is looking to expand into more enticing markets – what their plans are and how they intend to accomplish them is anyone’s guess.
Waikato sidestep writing their names back into the history books
In stealing the Ranfurly Shield of Taranaki last Sunday, Waikato set themselves up for years of potential heartache.
The Log of Wood, as it’s affectionately referred to in New Zealand, is the country’s oldest and, arguably, most revered rugby trophy. The holders of the Shield put the talisman up for grabs every time they host another provincial team and, although there have been a few lengthy tenures throughout history, the Shield has tended to trade hands at least once a season in recent times.
Waikato, the third most successful Ranfurly Shield team (at least when it comes to number of tenures), were also the team with the shortest tenure in the Shield’s history for a number of years, losing the trophy after barely a week back in 2007. Hawke’s Bay pipped their ‘record’ in 2013, managing to keep the Shield in Napier for a mere six days before having it claimed by Counties Manukau.
The contraction of New Zealand’s provincial season in recent times has meant that teams sometimes play three games in the space of eight days. Waikato played Taranaki in the second game of their ‘murder week’, which gave Hawke’s Bay the opportunity to snatch the Ranfurly Shield off Waikato when they’d barely had time to add it to their trophy cabinet.
Thankfully for Waikato supporters, their team managed to repel the Hawke’s Bay onslaught and triumph 42-22 in their first shield defence of the year – otherwise the province would have found themselves back in the history books with a lowly four-day tenure to their name.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Brett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
1 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
4 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
4 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
193 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
193 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
193 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
3 Go to commentsThanks for a much more balanced piece Ned and not that BS that Bin Smuth just posted a short while ago. read this article and then Bin Smuth’s and tell me there isn’t a huge difference🙄
3 Go to commentsWere the Baby Boks part of this game or did the Baby Blacks play themselves?🤔 That man Bin Smuth once again does a little write-up on the game and it is like 95% about the Baby Blacks🤣 Glad he ends off with the Baby Blacks were actually in cruise control for most of the game and weren’t actually playing for the win WTF🤣🤣 Maybe he was expecting the Baby Blacks to run rampant….
4 Go to commentsOne does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambi’s lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Black’s try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his “pundit” friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
193 Go to commentsEtzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
193 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
193 Go to commentsLook, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
193 Go to commentsForget the 85kg bit, that can become something else. However I do like the one off test on ANZAC day idea. SR plays Fri/ Sat, test players travel Sunday and the squads have the full week together before playing Saturday. Rest of SR has a week off. Either involve women's teams in same location or in the other country and rotate annually. Herbert is right in that change is needed.
3 Go to commentsI’ve read loads of nonsense before but this article takes the cake. Or perhaps someone changed the date for April Fool's Day.
3 Go to commentsReally Rugbypass? Ben Smith I think you forgot what the Springboks did to the All Blacks at Twickenham 8 weeks earlier? Springboks 35 All Blacks 7. There is alot of ifs and buts in your article. The All Blacks threw the sink at the Springboks and unfortunately they were not good enough regardless if they played with 14 men or not. It was the Springboks who forced the All Blacks to make mistakes! Sorry but not Sorry the Springboks is the best ever Rugby World Cup Nation in the world. 4 Cups baby!
193 Go to comments