World Rugby is set to reject the idea of emerging nations competing in a “plate” competition running alongside the main event at future World Cups. Instead, the 2027 tournament in Australia will be expanded to 24 teams with organisers keen not to erect “a glass ceiling” between the top sides and those with fewer playing and financial resources.
With Portugal and Uruguay, among others, having provided significant entertainment in France, there had been calls for lower-ranked sides with no hope of knockout stage qualification to be given fresh incentive in the form of a parallel event involving teams of more similar ability. It is understood, however, the proposed concept has insufficient support within World Rugby, which is also wary of the extra cost implications.
Instead, it will be formally agreed before the end of this tournament that 24 teams will be involved in Australia, opening the way for Spain, the United States, Canada and, potentially, either Hong Kong China or Brazil to feature in four years’ time. Six pools of four would also make it simpler for squads to play and train in half a dozen regional centres, reducing the amount of travel that has caused significant logistical headaches in France.
It will do little, however, to pacify those who believe the full potential of sides such as Georgia and Portugal will not be realised until they gain access to major tournaments such as the Six Nations or the top tier of the new Nations Championship, which is set to involve the world’s 12 leading sides and commence in 2026. No promotion from the second tier will be on offer in the latter competition before 2030 at the earliest, while the Six Nations remains a closed shop with no relegation.
World Rugby does provide substantial development funding and coaching expertise to nations outside the elite but, while standards are rising outside the game’s traditional powers, the top sides are also continually improving.
Statistically this disparity has improved little since the bad old days of the late 1990s when 100-point wallopings at World Cups were a frequent occurrence. To date, with one weekend remaining, only six of the 32 pool games in France have involved a margin of seven points or fewer. Unless there is at least one tight game in the final round, this could mean the tournament equalling the lowest figure seen at a World Cup this century.
In 2019 in Japan, there were also six “one-score” pool matches but three fixtures were scrapped because of the disruption caused by Typhoon Hagibis. In 2015 there were seven, while the figures for 2011 and 2007 were 10 and 12 respectively.
Michel Pousseau, the RWC tournament director, points out that audience figures for the tournament have already exceeded those from the 2015 tournament in England. “We have now reached an audience in France of more than 128 million fans watching through official broadcasters, which is already as much as the entirety of Rugby World Cup 2015 in England,” he said.
Last weekend’s game between New Zealand and Italy in Lyon attracted 5.3 million television viewers in France, 30% more than the audience who watched the most recent Champions League final between Manchester City and Internazionale. “We are seeing a younger and more diverse audience engagement around Rugby World Cup 2023, which is very good for our sport and to continue the growth of rugby,” said Pousseau. “That is our number one objective.”
