IRB surely hot off the mark this time

By WYNNE GRAY

For much of its existence the International Rugby Board gets rucked for its slow approach.

But this time the IRB is so far ahead of itself that its planning defies explanation.

With just a shade under 3 1/2 years until the sixth World Cup begins in France, the draw will be made in Dublin on Wednesday.

The IRB sent out proud details - with as much pomp as an email can produce - about the first balloted draw in World Cup history.

The venue is Fado's restaurant in the Lord Mayor's complex, a walk of several hundred metres from the IRB headquarters in Dublin's St Stephen's Green.

RWC chairman Dr Syd Millar and French rugby boss Bernard Lapasset will preside over the ceremony, which is expected to also host several international coaches and players.

Media interest is so strong that those attending have had to apply for accreditation to be officially fed, watered and informed.

The four semifinalists from the last World Cup - England, the Wallabies, the All Blacks and France - will be seeded and allocated across four separate pools.

The four quarter-finalists from the last tournament - South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and Wales - will make up a second band and will be drawn for their pool.

According to the IRB information, "the 12 remaining teams will be banded according to a combination of the RWC 2003 results and the IRB rankings, and will be drawn at random for pool allocations".

That just leaves several questions.

How can the remaining sides be identified when qualifying for the 2007 RWC has got years to run?

And why does all this have to happen now when the IRB proudly launched their official rankings last September?

Under a system the IRB grandly said had been chosen for its reliability, transparency and flexibility and had been tested on a database of nearly 4500 internationals dating back to 1871 (yes 1871), rankings would be reviewed after every weekend.

Would it not make sense to do the draw somewhere near the next tournament when everyone would have a far better grasp on nation's ratings?