Results in test matches in 2022 are an indication that predictability has deceased. In comparison to the closing of a year before prior Rugby World Cups, there is relative freshness in the air. This makes projections for the World Cup less certain. With the World Cup returning to France in …

Uruguay has been a success story of the past decade. Los Teros returned from missing out on Rugby World Cups 2007 and 2011 to now be a consolidated participant. For Uruguay, the focus changed from qualifying for World Cups to a sustainable long-term structure. How this happened may offer a …

Rugby World Cup 2023 will be the tenth men’s Rugby World Cup. Sixteen teams competed in four pools of four at the inaugural tournament in 1987. It was expanded to twenty teams competing in five pools of four for RWC 1999. It changed to four pools of five for RWC …

Rugby World Cup 2023 is to be the first Men’s Rugby World Cup without North Americans. It is to be the first without Canada and the second without the USA. Both teams missed out on qualifying to leave North American rugby in crisis. The USA were eliminated on points differential. …

Rugby World Cup 2023 will begin on September 08, 2023. Teams are to have a thin corrider in which to prepare in between the completion of professional seasons and the World Cup. There will be RWC warm-ups played. What are desirable World Cup warm-up matches for the Americas? Obtaining player …

Italy and World Rugby face an escalating player eligibility scandal. Hot on the heels of Spain’s disqualification from Rugby World Cup 2023, serious questions have arisen concerning the eligibility of Italian players that played in past Rugby World Cups. Italy has capped many players from Argentina. Among them are Italy’s …

Urgent matters over rugby player eligibility have surfaced for the third time in a handful of days. The three players all played for Italy and enjoyed long careers. The three men also all played at Rugby World Cups. Player eligibility is defined in Regulation 8 by World Rugby. It can be achieved …

Rugby faces a problem. Spain qualified for Rugby World Cup 2023 in March. In April the governing body of the sport deducted 10 points from Spain’s Rugby World Cup 2023 qualifying matches. The result in June was that Spain was out of the World Cup. Gavin van den Berg was …

In a significant reveal for rugby, a top player took to the field for an elite country in four World Cups and played in over 100 test matches despite not being eligible to do so. Italy fielded an ineligible player at Rugby World Cup 2003 and in three subsequent tournaments. …

The tide has turned; North America now feels the effects of a global imbalance in World Cup qualifying. Chile and Uruguay both qualified for Rugby World Cup 2023 ahead of North American opposition. This is a fundamental change. It follows repeated cycles wherein Sudamérica Rugby requested changes in the qualifying system …