For the few, not the many?
Japan toppling South Africa in Brighton, Uruguay edging Fiji in Kamaishi. Away from the glitter-strewn podiums of November, this is often where the magic of the Rugby World Cup lies. But is it ultimately hollow in the grand scheme of things?
It’s an oft-thrown remark around the Rugby World Cup that it’s not really a global competition, that only a select number of teams harbour genuine hopes of lifting the trophy. Tier Two nations are often seen as cannon fodder for teams looking for form or a gimme game where squad players get minutes under their belts while team stalwarts sit in the stands.
In the wake of their 43-14 loss to Wales in Pool D, Georgian Head Coach Milton Haig was uncompromising in his comments to reporters;
“You can’t play a team like Wales at the World Cup and produce miracles if you are not used to playing at this speed. The first half today showed that if you make a mistake against these (Tier 1) teams, they will kill you. Georgia needs at least four matches a year against Tier 1 teams and until that happens, these are the results you will get… A competition like the Six Nations is where we need to be to compete with teams like Wales. When they draw up the (international) schedule it is done four years in advance and the small boys like us scramble for the scraps at the table. We fight for what we can get. Hopefully we will see some change from 2020 onwards.”
It’s a bit of a chicken and egg scenario; Georgia aren’t good enough to play in the 6 Nations, but how do they get any stronger without actually being at the top table in the first place?
JOE’s Head of Rugby Jerry Flannery dug into the issue on the first episode of The JOEpan Rugby Show this week;
“Yeah, look I think World Rugby are doing a reasonably good job, I’m not privvy to all of it. I think they do a pretty good job in terms of, you know, putting really good quality coaches the likes of Milton Haig and Graham Rowntree into Georgia. They do a really good job of assisting those to grow the game, because that’s the purpose of World Rugby, to grow the game globally.”
The images that followed the Brave Blossoms history-making win over South Africa and the video of the Uruguayan captain in tears on the pitch after beating Fiji are great TV, they’re brilliant to like and share on Twitter, but they are too few and far between and do little but to mask the real problems facing Tier Two nations.
“Milton Haig is right, if Georgia do want to progress, then playing at a higher level is the only way that they’re really going to get better. I’m just not really sure that they’re at the level, based on what I saw in the Welsh game, if they’re really at the level where they’re going to be competitive in a 6 Nations yet. I’m not sure what the answer is, but it’s a tricky one here.”
So, what comes first: the chicken or the egg? 2020 will reveal World Rugby’s plan.
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