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World Rugby have just put added pressure on teams to improve their results in 2020
By Online Editors
World Rugby have reduced the window teams have to get themselves into as good a band as possible ahead of the pool draw for the 2023 World Cup in France.
Last time, there was an 18-month gap between the 2015 World Cup final and the draw for the 2019 World Cup which was held in Kyoto in May 2017.
That window to improve results has now been reduced by six months as 2023 organisers will hold the pool draw for the next tournament this November in Paris - just twelve months after last November’s final in Yokohama which was won by South Africa against England.
This reduction means, for instance, that the Six Nations countries will have only one edition of that tournament to try and improve their ranking on this occasion, unlike two Six Nations (2016 and 2017) the last time around before the balls were drawn out.
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Twelve of the 20 teams that took part in Japan 2019 are already automatically qualified for the 2023 finals and while the window for moving up or down won't shut until after the November series of Test fixtures, their current end-of-January rankings would see them divided into the following three bands:
- Band 1: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales;
- Band 2: Ireland, Australia, France, Japan;
- Band 3: Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, Italy.
The remaining eight teams will come through the global qualification process, which kicks off later this year. Those qualifiers will be allocated into bands four and five based on their relative strength.
World Rugby boss Bill Beaumont said: “The pool draw is an important milestone on the road to Rugby World Cup 2023 in France as it really drives excitement and momentum both in the host nation and throughout the global rugby family – it is the moment teams and fans can start to plan.
"With the World Rugby rankings determining the bands for the RWC 2023 pool draw, it promises to be a fascinating year of men’s international rugby with every match counting towards seeding at the end of the November Test series.”
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Latest Comments
There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.
Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.
Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.
They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.
Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.
Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen
Go to commentsWas it? I just brought it up in some of my posts to rub it in that the AB last year nearly put 100 on a top 6N side lol
I agree to be honest. The biggest key to me that they might be jadded was none of them had mom performances, or even as good as their last three games.
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