World Rugby aiming for 'genuinely competitive World Cup' in 2031

World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont has hailed the first month's World Cup action in France and promised the sport's lesser nations would get more chances "to be competitive on the world stage" amid widespread frustration from players and coaches.

However, anyone expecting a levelling up to come to fruition in time for the next tournament in Australia in 2027 might be disappointed as Beaumont spoke of a "genuinely competitive World Cup" four years after that.

"France 2023 has captured the imagination and warmed hearts the length and breadth of this rugby-loving nation," Beaumont said in statement on Tuesday after the end of the four-week pool stage.

"With an average attendance of 47,000 across the nine beautiful stadiums, more than a million fans mixing in rugby villages and an unprecedented social footprint of almost one billion fans, this is shaping up to be the social Rugby World Cup."

Although some of the Tier Two nations – renamed "performance unions" by the governing body – provided some memorable moments, only Fiji upset a Tier One side when they beat Australia.

To a man, the coaches of those unions lamented the lack of opportunity to get more meaningful matches outside the World Cup, which is what they have been complaining about pretty much since the tournament began in 1987.

"I want to assure everyone that the likes of Portugal, Samoa, Tonga, Uruguay, Chile and Georgia may be gone, but they are certainly not forgotten," Beaumont said.

"We must and will do everything we can to provide greater certainty and opportunity of regular high-level competition for these teams.

"They are central to our discussions on a reimagined international calendar that will benefit the many, not the few.

"This, in turn, will enable us to