One after the other as they exited the Rugby World Cup, coaches of tier two teams lamented the raw deal they have, not just at the game’s showpiece event but in general.
They all sighed at the lack of game-time and in a broader sense competition. While the so-called tier one nations play about a dozen matches on an annual basis the minnows play infrequently. Samoa at the time of writing had no matches scheduled next year.
Tier two teams certainly don’t play enough to get them into the shape needed to challenge the more established nations at the RWC. Yet teams like Fiji, Samoa, Portugal and Tonga to an extent, all richly contributed to the spectacle of the 10th RWC.
Their fans, though not as large in numbers, are every bit as passionate as those who watch Six Nations and Rugby Championship matches.
It is no coincidence that some of the lower ranked teams have performed better at this RWC. World Rugby has pumped significant funds into the development of the sport but throwing money at the problem doesn’t address all the ills.
Tier two teams need game-time and meaningful competition.
Their cries have been listened to but not entirely answered. World Rugby announced earlier this week that the Nations Cup (an official name yet to be confirmed) as well as the Challenger Cup will kick off in 2026.
While the introduction of the new competitions along with a more integrated season for rugby at Test and club level, are steps in the right direction, progress has been slow.
The Nations Cup will feature the Six Nations teams and the six teams from an expanded Rugby Championship. Apart from the matches in their traditional competitions, they will also play during the July and November windows in matches that will count towards the overall points table. After 11 matches each, the top two teams progress to the final. The final, for now will be played in the northern hemisphere as the southern hemisphere teams will be in that neck of the woods anyway in November.
The new competitions are supposed to grow the game and increase its revenue potential.
Bill Beaumont, World Rugby’s chair sat in the auditorium at Roland Garros grinning like a Cheshire cat after the announcement.
As he took centre stage at Philippe Chatrier Stadium there was, however, the lingering suspicion that it is still avantage tier one nations.
They are still guaranteed a seat at rugby’s top table until 2030, some criticising the top tier as a “closed shop”. World Rugby is argues, they’ll have it a lot better than is now the case.
Do the changes go far enough? There seems to be confusion whether promotion/relegation will occur in 2030 or if it was only agreed in principle.
A country like Italy would have been reluctant to make promotion/relegation part of the package but at least there now is a target.
As World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin pointed out good deals are brokered on the back of a bit of give and take.
In this case, however, it is not as if all the delegates are dealing on an equal footing.
The teams in the Challenger Cup will play against each other but in the year the competition is not contested, they will play crossover Tests against tier one nations. Those details need to be ironed out, but Gilpin assured Challenger Cup teams will play 50% more crossover matches against tier one nations from 2026.
While the introduction of the new competitions along with a more integrated season for rugby at Test and club level, are steps in the right direction, progress has been slow. No wonder some of the tier two teams are growing agitated. Rugby has always been a cumbersome mover when it comes to change.
If the sport is to become truly global it will have to broaden its base in every sense, sooner rather than later. That perhaps should include who gets to make those decisions but then again turkeys have their suspicions about Christmas.
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