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The pool stage has really dragged in this tournament with the extra week. Looks more and more likely that we'll get 24 teams next time around, which will mean games on every day and a much better flow for the tournament. There's been articles suggesting it will either be 6 pools of 4 or a...

I was for continuing with Super AU as well but they've locked in Super Rugby Pacific until 2030. The question for at least the next 7 years is how we get the most out of that. Perhaps it could just become the champions league, or evolve into a more condensed rep competition, but I'm not sure...

Well you could even have the 5 current teams form the basis of the national competition, and create 2 new brands for the Super Rugby tournament. It'd be like in cricket where the Australian squad is largely separate from the big bash and other domestic competitions. It's not my preference for...

I think there are some reasonable middle ground options. Another option would be to just have 2 very concentrated elite teams in Super Rugby, which feeds into the Wallabies (and Australia A, who should play at least a handful of games every season), and then focus on building a national club...

The main objection is that you turn 2 fan bases off the game forever. A middle ground I can see is that you centrally contract say 60 players (top 4 in each position) and condense them into 3 teams (who can't recruit foreign players), while setting up the other 2 teams (most likely the Force...

Uruguay were pretty gutsy and have some skilful players, but the French 2nd team was a clear step down from their 1sts. Could have been even closer as Uruguay got within 1 point during the 2nd half but then gifted France a try by kicking the ball into their own player (effectively a self...

It's a cup tournament, it's never going to be as 'fair' as a league where everyone plays each other. There's always an element of the luck of the draw no matter the format. I'd be shocked if the broadcasters go for 6 team pools over 4 team pools and a round of 16, but I guess we'll find out...

You'd have a lot more inconsequential pool games with 6 team pools though (with only top 2 progressing). Sure, with 4 team pools you take away 1 game for teams 17-20, but they would all have a fighting chance of making the round of 16, and I think it's a reasonable price to pay for the extra...

I think 6 pools of 4, with a round of 16 (a structure that has been used a fair bit in soccer) is a lot better than 4 pools of 6. The weakest 8 teams only play 3 games, pool phase doesn't drag out, and you get another 8 knockout games which would be awesome. A couple of the round of 16 games may...

I'd vote Sydney for the final. It'll also be interesting to see where our pool matches against Wales and Fiji are played.

I watched most of it, was a pretty exciting game, though it always felt to me like Spain were the better team. I think they should give a good account of themselves at the world cup. Couldn't be in a worse pool though! Probably no realistic chance of a win given Asia/Pacific 1 is almost...

It's a tough one because you could definitely argue that annulling Russia's results is the fairest way of doing it. It would mean that each team's points tally would come from the same number of games and against the same opponents. If Portugal get a walkover bonus point win over Russia, while...

It'll be interesting to see how Russia's suspension is dealt with in the European qualifying table. If games involving Russia are no longer counted that will benefit Romania as their record against them in the qualifiers is 1-1 whereas Spain beat them twice. The other option is to count their...

I actually think it's not that unlikely Romania pull off the upset. Georgia deserve to be favourites, especially if they are at full strength, but I wouldn't have them at overly short odds. Romania have the home advantage and more to play for. The game against Spain aside, they've had some good...

I'm interested to see if Algeria (and to a lesser extent Senegal and Ivory Coast) are able to get some professional players in France (who qualify through ancestry) to play for them in these qualifiers. The fact the games are being held in France could be a big advantage for them.

It probably won't include Tonga as they will have a playoff match against Asia 1 (probably Hong Kong) for a direct spot in pool B. The loser will go to the final qualifying tournament. I'd be surprised if it doesn't come down to who wins between the Americas and European qualifier, but you never...

I read this week that the average age of the Chilean squad is only 24, so they look set to keep improving over the next few years. USA will go in as favourites for Americas 2, but they're no sure thing. They beat Canada over 2 legs by 9 points while Chile just beat Canada over 2 legs by 8. And...

Agreed, but I think 6 pools of 4 would be better with an additional knockout round of 16. It's not perfect as it's a little messy having 4 out of 6 third place getters make it through, but I see this as a better alternative than a longer pool phase. The weakest teams would only play 3 matches...

I don't think there'd be much, if any time for a champions league, and I doubt there'd be much interest in it. I think a more interesting addition to the calendar would be a new international series between Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Australia A and the Maori All Blacks at the same time as the Rugby...