Gavin Rich's wide-ranging column takes the Nations Championship's first phase as its launching pad, but the most pointed analysis is reserved for the 2027 RWC draw. With South Africa, New Zealand and France emerging as a clear top three — all unbeaten or with a single contextual loss — Rich argues the World Cup draw has manufactured a nightmare bracket where those three teams will effectively eliminate each other in the quarters and semis, leaving England, Australia or Argentina to contest a final having faced far weaker opposition. He calls it 'idiotic' and a mockery of the rankings fuss that preceded the draw.
On the Championship itself, Rich is measured but critical. He credits the concept for elevating Fiji and Japan through regular top-tier exposure, but the travel demands are indefensible — England crossed the equator four times in three weeks, covering over 40,000km. He also lands a sharp blow on Borthwick, who used an unchanged lineup across all three games including a home fixture against Fiji, never giving Henry Pollock a start. Rich frames that as a failure of ambition that reinforces doubts about Borthwick's suitability heading into a World Cup cycle. The column closes with a warning about the Americanisation of rugby's showpiece tournaments, with the 2031 USA World Cup in his sights.