World Rugby boss doubles down on 'late' pool draw plan
NEWS: World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont has reiterated his organisation’s commitment to have the next World Cup pool draw “as late as possible”.
For the 2023 edition, World Rugby organised the pool draw in December 2020 and it eventually turned into a lopsided affair.
The current top four teams in the world – Ireland, France, New Zealand and South Africa – are all on one side of the draw.
France and New Zealand are in Pool A and Ireland and South Africa are in Pool B. It means two of those top four teams will not progress past the quarterfinal stage.
Earlier this year, World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said future draws for future World Cups will be better balanced following complaints about the lopsided format of this year’s edition.
And now Beaumont has doubled down on that pledge in an interview with The Breakdown show.
“The reason why the pool draws were made early was for the surety of the host cities and knowing where the teams are going to be, which is very important for a tournament,” said Beaumont.
“We will be looking to have the pool draw as late as possible so that we can get more consistency around the balance in a pool.
“There is always going to be one pool that is going to be tougher than the others.
“When we go to Australia, we will be looking at how late we can make the pool draw.”
Ahead of this year’s event in France, the sport has had its fair share of off-field problems.
Problems over recent months have included clubs in England continuing to experience financial woes and Welsh players threatening to strike over contract problems.
In December, former World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte stood down from his role as the French Rugby Federation’s president following his conviction for corruption.
However, Beaumont is hoping controversy doesn’t hit the World Cup when it begins in September.
“Hopefully, there is excitement and not much controversy. Hopefully, there will be open play with ball in play more.
“There is a lot more excitement because nobody really knows deep down who is going to win it and I think that is one of the great things about this year’s World Cup.”
Source: The Breakdown
