Midweek games for all in 2015

by Rollmeister Mon 10 Oct 2011, 5:55 pm

Article - Planet Rugby

Top nations will play midweek games at the 2015 World Cup after agreeing to a revised twenty-team structure.

The IRB Tier One chairmen and chief executives met on Auckland on Monday to discuss the format and schedule of the tournament as well as the economics of the game.

The quick turnaround time faced by smaller teams has been a contentious issue at the current event and has garnered much criticism.

With some teams playing four games in sixteen days while others enjoyed nearly a week between each game, the playing field was far from level.

However, it appears that this may not be a problem in the future.

"The Tier One Union delegates at the meeting committed to playing mid-week matches during RWC 2015 in order to help achieve a better balance for Tier Two and Tier Three Unions," the World Cup organisers said in a statement.

"The meeting also endorsed the commitment to review the Rugby World Cup commercial model, revenue distribution and RWC 2015 start date as planned following the completion of the 2011 event in New Zealand. "

However, the statement went on to say that: "While the meeting was not a decision-making forum, key recommendations will be put forward to the IRB Executive Committee and/or IRB Council for consideration."

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset praised the decision to alter the World Cup schedule.

"The success of Rugby World Cup has been essential to the global prosperity and growth of our sport over the last decade. It has delivered the financial platform to enable more men, women and children to participate across all continents over the next decade," he said.

"A review of the format and match schedule is undertaken after every tournament. This scheduled meeting, its recommendations, coupled with the ongoing commercial model review, will ensure that Rugby World Cup continues to serve the needs of the global Game at every level while reinforcing its place as one of the world's premier sports events."

"I would like to thank the Tier 1 Chairmen and Chief Executives for their full and open contribution to the meeting and their commitment to the review process."

Seems a little fairer, if not an ideal solution!