Does access to T1 teams really help that much though? Even Georgia, the best of the T2 nations, gets thoroughly clumped by Italy and Scotland when they play - do they gain much in improving themselves from that?
Puja
RWC hosts 2027 and 2031
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Which Tyler
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Re: RWC hosts 2027 and 2031
I think it helps financially, more than anything (if they play at home, or get a share of the gate). Indiviually it could help players put themselves in the shop window, and have a few more playing T1 club rugby - which then helps the national team... when they're available.Puja wrote:Does access to T1 teams really help that much though? Even Georgia, the best of the T2 nations, gets thoroughly clumped by Italy and Scotland when they play - do they gain much in improving themselves from that?
Puja
I don't think either USA or Canada improved when losing to EnglandA and ScotlandA - and whoever else sent a team to the Churchill Cup. If anything, Canada deteriorated then.
IIRC USA and Canada killed the Chch Cup because they didn't want to play our A sides any more, despite proving against the A sides that they didn't "deserve" a shot at the big boys.
Personally, I think they were bloody idiots for killing the cup
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Digby
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Re: RWC hosts 2027 and 2031
In fairness we've never tried a fair fixture list, and a fair distribution of revenues. Perhaps it wouldn't work, but I suspect it'd raise the tier 2 standards and interest in their countries. Whether that would be enough to create self fulfilling growth agenda I don't know.
What it might also do is reduce interest and delivery in some tier 1 nations. So you'd have to be willing to suffer some self sacrifice in the name of the greater good. Self sacrifice isn't anything any tier 1 nation shows the slightest interest in so it's all a moot point
Certainly the likes of Romania were very pleased to get the tier 1 fixtures this summer, albeit saddened the Scotland game got cancelled due to Covid. The game against Argentina in 2021 was perhaps their first tier 1 game since the WC in 2015. And they're not in the first instance asking for a completely equal fixture list, they're saying things like, when the Lions is on could we play full tests against the likes of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland when those teams (maybe not Scotland so much) are reduced in standard. And they didn't disgrace themselves against Argentina,they lost by 7 points
It's a shame Covid came along when it did because it's run right over the experiment of whether the WC in Japan would lead to a wider public interest, I suppose it's a shame for other reasons too but that's the big one
What it might also do is reduce interest and delivery in some tier 1 nations. So you'd have to be willing to suffer some self sacrifice in the name of the greater good. Self sacrifice isn't anything any tier 1 nation shows the slightest interest in so it's all a moot point
Certainly the likes of Romania were very pleased to get the tier 1 fixtures this summer, albeit saddened the Scotland game got cancelled due to Covid. The game against Argentina in 2021 was perhaps their first tier 1 game since the WC in 2015. And they're not in the first instance asking for a completely equal fixture list, they're saying things like, when the Lions is on could we play full tests against the likes of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland when those teams (maybe not Scotland so much) are reduced in standard. And they didn't disgrace themselves against Argentina,they lost by 7 points
It's a shame Covid came along when it did because it's run right over the experiment of whether the WC in Japan would lead to a wider public interest, I suppose it's a shame for other reasons too but that's the big one