Quote ="Wellsy13"12 nations of completely differing levels. Hard to find the right format, but the Aussies have shown the way slightly in their seeded pool format. Although the final format I still completely disagree with (PNG lambs to the slaughter, and 6 nations playing for one place was a bit harsh).
Super Pool 1 - Aus, Eng, Wal
Super Pool 2 - NZ, Fra, PNG
Pool 3 - Sco, Ton, Ire
Pool 4 - Leb, Sam, Fij
Everyone plays each other once in their pool (2 games each). After that, use a system similar to the play-offs (something that RL fans recognise)...
Week 1:
A) 1st in SP1 vs 2nd in SP2
B) 1st in SP2 vs 2nd in SP1
C) 3rd in SP1 vs 1st in SP3
D) 3rd in SP2 vs 1st in SP4
Week 2:
E) Loser of A vs winner of C
F) Loser of B vs winner of D
Week 3:
G) Winner of A vs winner of F
H) Winner of B vs winner of E
Week 4
Really do like this idea. Prob the best format suggested so far. With the number of teams participating unlikely to change for the next 2-3 world cups, I could really see a format like this being used repeatedly, which would help the credibility of the competition long term, rather than switching formats every time.
