I'm all for it, don't make rugby (and cricket) such a closed shop
I think we’re both on the same side on this Laps, but you have to understand that playing top level rugby isn’t the same as football or cricket. For a start, the physical conditioning of the forwards, especially the front row, has to be on a similar level in both packs, or serious injury or even death can happen. The up-to-date knowledge of the laws of the game is another issue, and everyone on the pitch, that’s the 15 starters and 7 substitutes on both sides, and especially the referee and touch judges, have to be fully acquainted. It’s no coincidence, for example, that the opening game in the qualifying tournaments for the 2019 World Cup, where Jamaica beat St Vincent and the Grenadines 48-0, was refereed by Nigel Owens, who had refereed the 2015 World Cup Final just 5 months earlier. You will have seen in this World Cup how referees act almost as coaches to both teams, explaining what is required in scrums and broken play, and even shouting encouragement when both teams get things right.
My point is that you cannot throw a third tier side into a match against a New Zealand or a France, as they will be destroyed both mentally and physically. They have to work their way up the ladder to earn that right. Sadly, professional status is a necessity, which is why many of the players from the emerging nations at this World Cup play for professional clubs in Europe or Australia or New Zealand. Japan as a nation have fully embraced professionalism: the national squad have been training together for 240 days before the tournament began, which has cost the national Rugby Union a fortune.
As Dave pointed out earlier, Rugby 7’s is a fantastic game where skills can be shown off in the same way as 15 a side, but the much shorter format and the absence of scrums means there is far less impact on the players’ bodies. There are many international tournaments where lower tier countries, especially the Pacific Island nations, have shone, and this has, over time, translated into the full 15 a side game, where teams like Fiji and Samoa are now well-established Tier 2 nations.
