THERE HAS BEEN much debate of late over the supposedly preferential treatment that the IRB are giving to the top tier nations at the Rugby World Cup.
There has been many vocal critics of the current playing schedule, including Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, who believe the smaller nations are being treated unfairly.
The main issue of contention arises from the fact that the IRB have seemingly bowed to pressure from TV companies and allowed the bigger nations’ matches to be screened solely at weekends – a situation that means the smaller nations often have less time in between games to recover, as the schedule is designed to suit the bigger sides.
There is also a counter-argument, which sugests that, given how the IRB devotes a considerable portion of their TV revenue to develop the sport in these smaller nations, the end justifies the means.
With all this in mind, do you think the the manner in which the IRB are treating the smaller nations is justifiable?
