An expansion of the World Cup to 24-teams, the creation of a new tournament and the removal of a Six Nations rest week have all been announced as part of World Rugby's radical overhaul of the sport.
World Rugby has announced a series of calendar changes, a new biennial 'Nations League-style' tournament, a revamped Pacific Nations championship, and an expanded Rugby World Cup which will feature 24 teams in 2027 in the biggest structural changes that the sport has seen in years.
The much-maligned draw process is also set to be changed and the draw for the pool stage will take place in January 2026, 20 months prior to the tournament. This is a major change as the lampooned draw for the 2023 tournament, which wound up having the top four teams in the World facing off in the quarter-finals, took place in December 2020 a full three years ahead of the beginning of the tournament.
To make space for the new tournament and the revamped World Cup, the Six Nations window has been reduced by one week, meaning there will be only one rest week over the course of the competition.
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