Sitting in the pub the other night reflecting on the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup the conversation turned to nerds. An acquaintance was telling the story of his computer-savvy mate who had worked out the seating plan for his wedding via something called an optimisation algorithm.
Basically he tapped out the guest list, separated the drinkers from the teetotallers, the gigglers from the serious-minded, the sporty from the unathletic and the single from the married, pressed a button and – hey presto! – the algorithm did the rest.
Apparently the party was a triumph. Everyone enjoyed themselves and were suitably amused when the groom confessed in his speech how he had rigged the table plans for the greater good. Which begs the obvious next question: is there not a rugby-loving nerd out there who can iron out the flawed World Cup fixture schedule?
Already we have seen Japan wilt under the strain of having to face South Africa and Scotland within 94 hours of each other. This week it is Wales’s turn to front up against Fiji on Thursday, less than five days after their seismic game against England at Twickenham. It is a slight improvement on 2011 but the playing field is still not flat enough.
Actually you do not even require high-tech gadgets. To formulate a schedule which is not just equitable but allows everyone at least six days between games is relatively easy. It simply means scheduling no fixtures on the first three days of any given week. Instead the pool matches would all take place between Thursday and Sunday: two apiece on Thursday and Friday, four on Saturday and two more on Sunday.
Where is the problem with that? It would allow proper preparation for all and give non-rugby types at least a couple of nights’ respite in terms of their television viewing choice. If you wanted to be really clever and cut the length of the tournament by a week you could even recast the tournament into five pools of four, rather than the current four pools of five. Tries scored in rival pools – as in European club rugby – would suddenly become relevant, with only the five pool winners qualifying along with the three best runners-up.
To offset the resultant drop in the number of pool games from 40 to 30 the top eight non-qualifiers would also enter a plate-type competition – the Lomu Bowl perhaps – to run concurrently with the Webb Ellis Cup knockout stages. Tier-two nations seeking to better themselves would suddenly have the chance of winning a high-profile trophy on a global stage, an impossible dream at present.
Feasible? The Guardian decided to run this past the good people at World Rugby. According to a spokesman “it’s not that simple”, with the broadcasters frequently calling the tune. But what price a couple of quiet evenings per week when measured against preserving the integrity of the competition. Would Japan have worried the Scots with more preparation time? Is it fair that Fiji’s World Cup hopes were effectively over inside five days? If Wales are upset on Thursday will it be entirely their own fault?
This feeds into some other areas that require serious debate going forward. As the rash of injury replacements is showing – and best wishes for a speedy recovery to Jean de Villiers, Billy Vunipola, Will Skelton, Wycliff Palu, Scott Williams, Hallam Amos et al – a maximum of 31 players in a squad feels like too few in the modern game, particularly with the increased funds flowing into the sport.
In the shorter term, too, the public transport shortcomings also badly need fixing if this tournament is to be remembered fondly by the hundreds of thousands of visitors to this country. As anyone who tried to leave Twickenham after the England-Fiji game or Cardiff following the Australia-Fiji game will know, it has been a less than auspicious start.
Spare a thought, in particular, for the elderly or the incapacitated; walking several miles on a pair of crutches, as I have seen some people forced to do, is no fun. Hopefully, too, the gentleman who collapsed in the crush in our carriage out of Cardiff is on the mend. Luckily, two paramedics happened to be standing nearby but the train manager calculated there were 1,300 people on a train supposed to take only 800. If World Rugby or Great Western Railway ever need an optimisation algorithm to improve the situation, they know who to call.