Change in sight for the World Rugby. The director general of the international body (World Rugby), Alan Gilpin, explained on Wednesday 26 April at a conference in London that the rules for the draw of the global tournament would be changed from the 2027 edition in Australia. The reason for this was the volley of criticism that followed the draw for the 2023 World Cup in France, which was made in 2020, three years before the deadline. It placed the top four nations in the current world rankings – Ireland, France, New Zealand and South Africa – in the same bracket. “I understand the frustration of the coaches and players, said Gilpin. The 2023 World Cup has an uneven draw because of the timing of the draw. We’re using world rankings, which is the best representation of a team’s strengths and weaknesses, but it was done at a time that, compared to now, may become obsolete.” The CEO of World Rugby announced it: rugby will now follow the example of soccer, where the World Cup draw is made less than a year before the competition.
