Minnows in line for a World Cup boost

By JON NEWCOMBE

World Rugby aims to streamline the Rugby World Cup qualification process to give non-high performance nations even more time to prepare for the next tournament in Australia.
RWC 2027 will feature 24 teams, the first expansion since 1999 when the tournament went to 20 teams from the original 16. Insiders say that Europe will get four automatic places rather than three, while Asia looks set for one guaranteed place in addition to Japan.
At present, the combined results over a two-year period of the Rugby Europe Championship determine the three automatic qualifiers from Euro...

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