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The global governing body of the sport of rugby, World Rugby has come out and admitted the error of determining the Pools for Rugby World Cups three years before the tournaments are played. The groups for the upcoming tournament to be played in England and Wales were known as long ago as December 2012.
World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper has admitted that the process must be changed. Speaking at an event to mark 30 days until the Rugby World Cup, Gosper said: “You want it to be a true reflection of the position at the time of the tournament. You’ve got to balance the proximity of the tournament with all of the planning that goes into it. We’ll look at that next time to see if it’s possible to make that draw closer to the tournament.”
The draw took place following the close of international competition that year and used the World Rankings of the pre-qualified countries at that time to separate them into three bands of four teams each. At the time Wales was ranked outside of the top eight and therefore was classified as a band 3 nation.
This happened due to Wales struggling at home in late 2012 as Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Samoa all won in Cardiff. Australia joined New Zealand, South Africa and France in Band 1 while England fell into Band 2 as did Argentina, Ireland and Samoa.
A month out from the World Cup the rankings are significantly different and provide strong support for the claim that Pool A is indeed the Pool of death. Hosts England and Wales will be joined by Australia, Fiji and Uruguay. If drawn today both Australia and England would be in Band 1 while Wales would be in Band 2 and Fiji currently sits as the highest ranked Band 3 member.
The pools simply do not reflect the standings of this year’s World Cup competitors. This is evident when examining other groups such as that in which the USA will play in, Pool B. The Eagles enter the World Cup as the lowest ranked team in the pool in 16th position one place behind Japan. The pre-qualified Samoa and Scotland, meanwhile, are both now in Band 3 occupying 11th and 12th respectively. The top ranked South Africa is 5th and, therefore outside of Band 1.
Determining when exactly is the ideal time for completing the draw remains debatable. There is a need to balance making it as fair as possible for all competitors together with giving the tournament organizers sufficient time to adequately plan the event. Greater time simplifies planning to ensure the allocation of match venues can prioritize the larger venues for the highest grossing matches.
The 2014 World Cup was played in June and July, while the draw had taken place as recently as December 2013. The propsects of replicating FIFA’s model would therefore appear to be somewhere between slim and nil. A more realistic approach for rugby would be to have the draw 12 or 18 months closer to the tournament. Either December 2017 or July 2018 could therefore be the options for the Rugby World Cup 2019 draw.
Japan will host Rugby World Cup 2019 in eleven cities with the tournament set to be played in September and October.
