Losing Interest In The World Cup As Tournament Hasn't Really Got Going

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3 Tongans who play for England and Wales. Funny thing is they are related,the Vunipola brothers play for England and cousin Faletau plays for Wales. They have been in the UK since they were small so in my eyes they qualify and have earned the right to wear the jersey of their choice.

I don't know about everyone else but I have found this World Cup boring so far. I know the tournament doesn't properly get going until the quarterfinals, but I am struggling to watch any of the games. Weekends are fine, but during the week I am working and I am not that bothered to check on the scores until the evening.

I understand that these competitions have got to be played all around the world to grow the game globally. The matches for me are not exactly at the times you would call convenient as they are between 8 am and 11 am normally.

Having four pools of five teams when there are only about 8 decent rugby playing nations leaves 60 to 70 percent of the pool games as a non event. Yes there has been one exception with Japan beating Ireland and I am hoping for one or two more upsets over the next 20 days or so. We are two weeks in and have only had two decent games so far that were watchable.

What i have found disappointing is the standard of some of the teams that are the fringe nations and aren't in the top 8. In the previous World Cups the likes of Tonga,Samoa, Fiji and the USA have come away with some credibility. This year however they look as though they have gone backwards and the game is dying a slow death.

You can't force teams to play at these levels if they aren't good enough and my feeling is to have the four pools, but remove one from each pool. It cuts down the number of games, but it also raises the standards. It has taken Japan 24 years to get to the level they are now and the likes of Tonga and Samoa have gone in the opposite direction.

I think something needs to happen as the drain of players flowing from these islands into other teams is really hurting them now. It is not only the All Blacks but the Wallabies (Australia),England and wales who now have players of pacific island descent. The players playing abroad and sending money home are the Islands second biggest export now. There are currently just over 3000 registered adult rugby players in Tonga which is rather a bare cupboard. Samoa is a little better off with around 23 000.

If the World Rugby Union wants to grow rugby globally they need to start developing Tonga, Samoa and Fiji giving them financial support so the players remain at home. It wouldn't take much to get their standards back up to where they once were.I still believe you should be born in that country or have a relative who was ie parents and that is the only way you should qualify.

Playing 3 seasons in a country to qualify for new international status is too short and convenient for everyone involved. The players that are switching allegiance are hurting and killing the sport in their own countries. New Zealand is a massive draw card for youngsters with promise and there is nothing these islands can do to stop it. It has been happening for years and I believe new rulings need to be made.

It all boils down to money at the end of the day and you can't blame the players for chasing the buck.