Rugby world cup the game

The World Cup will start on Saturday, 8 October, with the biggest challenge for UK-based fans being the overnight and early morning kick offs - arguably Wales have the worst times. The 12th team to qualify for the showpiece will be decided at the Final Qualification tournament in February. One of Scotland, Samoa, Columbia and the winner of the play-off between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan also in February will take the final spot.

It's worth also marking the diary for May, when World Rugby will announce the host country for the Rugby World Cup, currently expected to be England. Glimpses of the new women's global calendar will appear in , although the new WXV tournament won't be launched until The Women's Six Nations will sit in its new spring window, while the Pacific Four Series between Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States will be played at full strength for the first time, although the dates are yet to be confirmed.

In we'll also discover if any players decide to apply to World Rugby to transfer unions after the 'birthright amendment' was approved last November. There is potential for a woman to compete for two nations at different World Cups by the end of the year.

The ongoing push-pull of women between Sevens and XVs could reach its climax in , with a packed schedule that will force many players and unions to prioritise one format or the other. In England, the popularity and reach of the Premier 15s is expected to continue to attract the best international playing talent from across the globe.

The Rugby Football Union will meet in January to discuss how the franchises for the next three-year cycle, , will be determined. However, the league is not without its problems, most notably with DMP Durham Sharks still winless this season. Welsh Rugby Union performance director Nigel Walker confirmed last November that the RFU had rejected the idea of a Welsh side entering the Premier 15s league, however further announcements about women's club rugby in Wales are expected.

The women's Premiership in Scotland finally resumed in , although the six-team league still has a broad gap to close if it hopes to attract Scotland's best talent away from the Premier 15s. As for Ireland, let's move onto the next section. The 62 Irish players who wrote a letter of no-confidence to their government last December epitomised the trend of many women in rugby who are increasingly confident about using their voices to effect change. The full publication of two reviews into women's rugby in Ireland are hotly anticipated - the first into the failure to qualify for the World Cup is expected in January, the second wider review should be published before the spring.

The WRU has apologised and will announce which players have secured their first professional and semi-professional contracts at the start of January. The Americans face a truly daunting task. When it comes to World Cup bids, Japan has shown how things can go right. After hosting rights for were won, a professional league had time to bed in and grow. In the Brave Blossoms beat South Africa. In their own World Cup they made the knockout rounds.

The first tournament held outside the traditional powers proved a resounding success. The US has much further to go. There is also, if rather lost in its sporting past, a tale which shows how things might yet go rather wrong. In , a team of English cricketers mounted an American tour.

Their aim was simple: to establish their game in America. I think they need time to invest in their team and build their stocks up. Australian rugby also faces its own battle to retain audiences in an increasingly competitive domestic market but McLennan claims high-profile league players would be more likely to transfer to the a-side code if a World Cup was held on their doorstep.

With the final hosting decision to be taken next May, Australian officials say no firm decision has been taken on where a final might be held, with Perth, Melbourne and Sydney all viewed as candidates.

How do you knock that?