Will we see a change in the make up of the IRB?

It seems to me that rugby is starting to change and the IRB will need to change with it. It currently is largely run by a committee made up of 2 members from the old 5 nations and 3 from SANZAR, with a rep from Argentina, Italy and some from the regions. It wasn't that long ago (pre WW2) that it was still being run by the home unions. I think change is coming, it's just a matter of when.

These are the trends I see:

The gradual improvement of new countries. We can already seen that Scotland have dropped to 12th in the current rankings and teams like Argentina and Samoa have made the top 8. I think that Italy is a team that will improve, as will a number of other European teams. The same is probably true of the South American teams now they have an annual competition. Eventually, as they improve, they will want equal representation. If a team like Italy wins the 6 nations (or finishes mid table in consecutive years it's hard to argue the don't deserve it. The same goes for Argentina.

The change in the face of the sevens game. this game is not the traditional force in union. But it's now an Olympic sport and already we are seeing a difference. More upsets and closer games. Nations will expect to have a say in their sport. Money is likely to come and the sport is likely to grow (it's an easy return on investment). Currently we see teams like Samoa, Fiji and Kenya in the top four. We have Portugal tied with Australia, ahead of both England and Scotland.

The women's game. Again the sport is growing. When the world cup started the US was the dominant team, they were displaced by NZ and now we have England as the dominant team. Although the game is still dominated by traditional countries, teams like Canada and Spain have the potential to be competitive. The real change in womans rugby is likely to be sevens. The top 8 sides currently include Spain, Russia, Canada and the Netherlands. Considering that internationals have been largely confined to the womens six nations, both forms of the women's game have huge potential for growth and change.

It all adds up to a long term pressure to change the administration committee.

Your thoughts.