Ideas Man Stephen
Juniors
- Messages
- 388
I am a big fan of the international game and hope to watch some of the RLWC in France, however, I don’t really think the current format of 4 groups of 4 gives us enough entertaining fixtures. For example, to be expected high quality fixtures we did not see at last year’s event were:
Aus v Tonga/England; England v Aus/Tonga/NZ; NZ v Eng/Samoa/Tonga; PNG v Fiji/Tonga/Samoa
There is a juggle between scheduling all the best teams to play all the best teams and including lower ranked teams in a six week schedule, but I have an idea that would see the WC increased to 20 teams to increase WC playing opportunity whilst also seeing the best teams playing the best teams.
It requires the WC to change from a group stage to finals format, to a preliminary KO to round robin and final format.
A preliminary 16 nation Prelim KO of the highest ranked nations that did not make the previous WC semi finals. Three KO rounds would leave two nations to join the top 4 seeds in a six team round robin. In 2025 the Prelims would include Tonga, Fiji, PNG, Cooks, Lebanon, Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jamaica with the likes of USA, Canada, Serbia and Africa 1 joining them.
The remaining 2 teams from the prelims, join the seeded nations for a 6 nation round robin. This would result in the best six nations all playing each other over a five week period with a final in week 6.
This would eliminate less attractive fixtures from the schedule like we saw last year - Eng/Samoa v Greece; Aus v Scot/Italy; NZ v Jamaica; Tonga v Wales - which would all be replaced with high quality top teams v top teams.
Aus v Tonga/England; England v Aus/Tonga/NZ; NZ v Eng/Samoa/Tonga; PNG v Fiji/Tonga/Samoa
There is a juggle between scheduling all the best teams to play all the best teams and including lower ranked teams in a six week schedule, but I have an idea that would see the WC increased to 20 teams to increase WC playing opportunity whilst also seeing the best teams playing the best teams.
It requires the WC to change from a group stage to finals format, to a preliminary KO to round robin and final format.
A preliminary 16 nation Prelim KO of the highest ranked nations that did not make the previous WC semi finals. Three KO rounds would leave two nations to join the top 4 seeds in a six team round robin. In 2025 the Prelims would include Tonga, Fiji, PNG, Cooks, Lebanon, Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jamaica with the likes of USA, Canada, Serbia and Africa 1 joining them.
The remaining 2 teams from the prelims, join the seeded nations for a 6 nation round robin. This would result in the best six nations all playing each other over a five week period with a final in week 6.
This would eliminate less attractive fixtures from the schedule like we saw last year - Eng/Samoa v Greece; Aus v Scot/Italy; NZ v Jamaica; Tonga v Wales - which would all be replaced with high quality top teams v top teams.