The tournament will expand to 24 teams in Australia in 2027.
Murray Kinsella Reports from Paris THE FOUR-YEAR wait begins and though it feels like that will be akin to a lifetime right now, it’s funny how things can move on quickly.
This World Cup lived up to the billing. There were elements of disorganisation, particularly on the opening weekend, but the French certainly have brilliant stadiums and love their rugby. Record attendance figures and TV viewing numbers were important for World Rugby, while much of the rugby was riveting.
Argentina and Japan served up an entertaining pool clash, the other two quarter-finals had plenty of drama even if they were lower-quality, while England nearly shocked the Boks in an absorbing semi-final that was a great contrast to the comparatively pitiful clash between the All Blacks and Argentina in the other semi.
There seemed to be a majority of French supporters at the semi-finals and even the final, with many of them sadly focused on booing the match officials. They really have struggled to get over the perception that they were harshly treated in their quarter-final defeat to South Africa. The new format will mean a shift to six pools of four and the worry is that we will end up with lots of group-stage games that are not competitive. Still, the aim is growing the game and having more nations involved in the big show can hopefully inspire development across the board.
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