Match threads

[Lizard]

Match week 2 coming up. If there isn't a thread for any match I'm going to keep setting them up. If there's one on another board I probably won't, but I might.

Sweet?

Sweet.

[Which Tyler]

Sweet as, mate

[Puja]

Match week 2 coming up. If there isn't a thread for any match I'm going to keep setting them up. If there's one on another board I probably won't, but I might.

Sweet?

Sweet.

Thanks for that - you're doing great work. Only thing would be maybe putting the day of the game in the title like we do on the EMB?

Puja

[Lizard]

Match week 2 coming up. If there isn't a thread for any match I'm going to keep setting them up. If there's one on another board I probably won't, but I might.

Sweet?

Sweet.

Thanks for that - you're doing great work. Only thing would be maybe putting the day of the game in the title like we do on the EMB?

Puja

I’d be putting it in NZ time, which is a day ahead.

[Puja]

Match week 2 coming up. If there isn't a thread for any match I'm going to keep setting them up. If there's one on another board I probably won't, but I might.

Sweet?

Sweet.

Thanks for that - you're doing great work. Only thing would be maybe putting the day of the game in the title like we do on the EMB?

Puja

I’d be putting it in NZ time, which is a day ahead.

... okay, so I'm English, which means I'm legally barred from recognising the rights and perspectives of other nations. You should adapt to us and just put it at GMT like civilised people do.

{/s} Fair point, well made.

Puja

[Lizard]

Decolonize now!

[Puja]

Decolonize now!

Good solution, btw.

Puja

[Lizard]

Time zones are complex. This is the PM of Albania:

[Lizard]

Having set this week’s threads up, I’ve got to say there’s not a huge number of compelling matches.

I make it 4 guaranteed walkovers, 3 potential banana skins, and 1 competitive match.

[Puja]

Having set this week’s threads up, I’ve got to say there’s not a huge number of compelling matches.

I make it 4 guaranteed walkovers, 3 potential banana skins, and 1 competitive match.

True, but Australia vs Fiji is worth the price of entry on its own.

Puja

[Lizard]

Should be a banger. I hope Fiji can really get up for it after the disappointment v Wales.

Big test of temperament for Carter Gordon, too.

[Which Tyler]

Having set this week’s threads up, I’ve got to say there’s not a huge number of compelling matches.

I make it 4 guaranteed walkovers, 3 potential banana skins, and 1 competitive match.

IMO, the RWC itself should be 16 teams.
Expansion should be in the form of a qualifying tournament 12-18 months beforehand (with the RWC draw taking place immediately afterwards).

I'd have that tourney (4 pools of 6, top 2 go through) as 5 matches each in the June/July window, and draw the pools based on rankings at that point (before the QN starts).
If the practicalities allowed (and I doubt that they would) I'd then have a knock-out phase for everyone from the 24-team tourney who failed to qualify for the RWC "proper". If not practical, then each pool could be held in a different country (say hosted by the 3rd seeds?).

For me, the question would be when to make the draw for the qualifying tournament, as it would affect touring plans that are put in place a decent way in advance.

It would mean that, if we took the rankings as of 1st January 2021 to the hold a 2022 qualifying tournament (excluding the 2019 quarter finalists, and excluding any geographic considerations), the pools would have been.
Pool A: Scotland, USA, Spain, Namibia, Netherlands, Kenya
Pool B: Argentina, Samoa, Uruguay, Canada, Brazil, Korea
Pool C: Fiji, Italy, Romania, Hong Kong, Belgium, Germany
Pool D: Georgia, Tonga, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Chile

You'd expect the top seed from each group to win, but there are viable upsets (except Scotland), then a proper fight between each pool's 2nd and 3rd seeds.

Assuming the top 2 seeds, then (with the proviso that rankings would have been changed as a result of different matches happening at that point) from the rankings end of July 2022, this world cup would likely be
Pool A: Ireland, Wales, Argentina, Tonga
Pool B: France, Scotland, Japan, USA/Spain
Pool C: South Africa, Australia, Samoa/Uruguay, Italy
Pool D: New Zealand, England, Fiji, Georgia

I don't think it would be possible to get a single weekend full of dead rubbers there.

[Lizard]

I appreciate your work there but can see some practical problems…

[Puja]

Having set this week’s threads up, I’ve got to say there’s not a huge number of compelling matches.

I make it 4 guaranteed walkovers, 3 potential banana skins, and 1 competitive match.

IMO, the RWC itself should be 16 teams.

Hard disagree. The RWC is a huge marketing tool and there's massive cachet and visibility in being involved - the majority of Portugal's current team credit the 2007 RWC as the reason they got into rugby. That's not to mention the government funding boosts that are often available to a team that qualifies. And it's not like the gaps aren't closing - I don't believe there has been a century score in the RWC since 2011 and most games have at least some competitiveness in them.

I'm of the opinion we should expand to 24 (six pools of 4 with a round of 16) and have a plate (and perhaps bowl, if finances allow) competition underneath it to give the minor nations more chances of games they can win.

Puja

[Lizard]

Well the news is reporting that World Rugby is seriously looking at 24 teams as soon as 2027.

And why not?

The USA is ranked higher than 3 qualifiers. Canada could still regain their mojo. Spain and Russia are no worse generally than Portugal. It would nice to have another African or Asian team involved too.

https://www.codesports.com.au/rugby-uni ... 8fa8cec312

[Puja]

Well the news is reporting that World Rugby is seriously looking at 24 teams as soon as 2027.

And why not?

The USA is ranked higher than 3 qualifiers. Canada could still regain their mojo. Spain and Russia are no worse generally than Portugal. It would nice to have another African or Asian team involved too.

https://www.codesports.com.au/rugby-uni ... 8fa8cec312

That's promising, although there were also rumours of them expanding in time for 2019, and 2023, so I'll take it with a pinch of salt.

If we took the 3 non-qualifiers from this time's repechage, then we'd add USA, Kenya, and Hong Kong, none of which are appreciably worse than Namibia or Portugal. A repechage for the last place would probably just be a playoff between Spain and Canada, so again a decent enough side.

Going to 24 would have the sizeable advantage of pools with even numbers in, so we wouldn't have the scheduling awkwardness of trying to juggle a round robin of 5 teams. The only downside would be that it's relatively easy to get into a round of 16 from 6 pools of 4 (top 2 qualify, plus 4 best third placed), so you have less jeopardy than you do this RWC, but it also means more to play for with the minor teams, unlike this tournament where the likes of Tonga and Italy already know they're out before they start because of the draw.

Puja