Brett Gosper has explored the idea of expanding the Rugby World Cup.GETTY IMAGES
One year out from the Rugby World Cup, the body representing rugby players worldwide has put the brakes on talks to "drive a football-esque expansion of the sport's showpiece event," according to Georgina Robinson of THE AGE. The Int'l Rugby Players Association said that World Rugby should prioritize the welfare and conditions of players from tier-two nations "before entertaining thoughts of expanding the World Cup from 20 to 24 teams in the future." The idea was canvassed by World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper this week but IRPA CEO Omar Hassanein said that rugby needs to "bridge the gap between its tier one and two nations first." Hassanein: "If we want to be a sport that has that real uncertainty about who's going to be in the quarterfinals of a World Cup then the key is strengthening the tier two band." Gosper said that expansion is "inevitable and could even come as soon" as the '23 tournament in France. Hassanein said that the IRPA had "no problem with expansion per se" but believed the priority should be wage security among Pacific Islands nations and some African and European teams, "plus bridging the competitiveness gap" (THE AGE, 9/19).
