World Rugby moves to avoid 2023 'mismatches'
REACTION: World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin said holding the draw for the 2027 World Cup in January 2026 was a "compromise", but would be better than the situation for the current competition.
The draw for this year's World Cup in France was held in December 2020, nearly three years before the tournament kicked off - leading, unintentionally, to a lop-sided tournament.
When the tournament started in September the top five teams according to the rankings - Ireland, South Africa, France, New Zealand and Scotland - were in two of the pools.
The No.1 ranked Ireland was knocked out by fourth-ranked New Zealand in the quarterfinals, while third-ranked France exited at the hands of the second-ranked South Africa.
Scotland went out at the pool stage having been in the same one as the Irish and the South Africans.
The 2027 World Cup will take place in Australia between October 1 and November 13.
"Is it a recognition this one was too early?" he said of the change in the date for the draw.
"I think we've said this a few times," Gilpin added.
"I understand that there's frustration around the draw for this World Cup.
"The reality is, and sometimes this is a bit lost, we were in the middle of a global pandemic and nobody was playing international rugby at the time the draw was made for this tournament.
"So, we were using effectively the rankings that existed from the end of the last tournament.
"And that was really important in order to be able to plan for the great tournament that we've now had and to give teams and fans and those investing in the tournament, the stakeholders in this tournament, the opportunity to move that planning forward.
"But of course, it leads to the challenges or the frustrations that we've had here.
"There's always been a recognition that we want to change that, to have the draw closer to the tournament.
"When you actually drill down into that what you quite quickly realise, if you are going to have a draw that is based on the integrity of global rankings in World Cups, is that there is a relatively narrow window between the end of the November internationals and the start of the next Six Nations in the men's game when everyone is playing.
"And the moment you go beyond that, some nations have had the opportunity to improve their rankings and some haven't until the end of the next November internationals.
"We've taken the view for the World Cup in Australia in 2027 that waiting until after the November internationals in 2026 would be too late.
"I think it would put ticket sales at risk and that puts the financing of the tournament at risk.
"I think fans would be very frustrated at that outcome of not being able to plan with any certainty with less than a year to a World Cup. It would be a real challenge, particularly at a time of expansion to 24 teams, to plan for the infrastructure that is needed for that expansion.
"So, the moment we've taken the decision not to go as late as effectively 10 months before a World Cup then we are back to January 2026.
"So, hopefully again, it's a compromise, but a better one than we have now."
This year's World Cup ends on Saturday as holders South Africa meet New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris with both sides eyeing a record fourth title.
* Additional reporting by AFP