KEY POINTS:
International Rugby Board chairman Syd Millar is concerned about the ascendancy of New Zealand in world rugby.
Millar said it was not good or healthy for rugby to have one or two dominant countries.
New Zealand had exceptional players and were playing at great pace which put their
opponents under a lot of pressure.
"But no one has put them under the kind of pressure you would like to see.
"That is why we give monies to the tier one countries as well as others lower down to ensure they increase their competitiveness. It is important that all the major rugby playing nations can compete with the likes of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, France and England.
"What New Zealand is doing is very simple, playing the ball out of the tackle. The great French sides of the late 1950s and 1960s did exactly that. They rolled round off the back of the lineout and kept the ball alive.
"What we have had in some European rugby is continuity of possession, but not of play. But produce continuity of play at pace and other teams are put under pressure. Putting people into space by off-loading the ball is what New Zealand are doing most effectively.
"But those are the ways rugby always used to be played. Wales did it in the 1970s, France a little earlier and England, too, a few years ago."
Of the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup chances, he said they were certainties to win the cup in 1999 but France beat them in the semifinal.
"People say the same now but we will see. South Africa will also be hard to beat."
The criticism constantly made of the cup is that the growing gap between the major countries and the remainder means the competition is becoming too predictable.
"This is always chucked at us. People say they can name the semifinalists at the Rugby World Cup this year. But I can name the four teams who are likely to finish in the top four of the English soccer Premiership this season. It would be much the same in Spain in their soccer league.
"I believe we now have more competitive teams among the tier one nations. Ireland and Wales should both be very competitive at this World Cup and I wouldn't dismiss England, either, although they are going to have to play a limited game perhaps."
What does Millar want to see at the World Cup in France this year?
"Rugby that is attractive and will attract people to watch it; a game that will make people want to play it and make parents want their kids to get involved. Above all, I want it to be a great festival and spectacle of rugby football. The cup is an opportunity for the game to show itself to the world."
Ticket prices for the minor games are reasonable (about $28 to $42). But for the major matches, and especially the knock-out stages, costs rise astronomically.
Millar says that is simply a fact of life.
"Spectator demands are high and you have the same scenario with the Olympics or a soccer World Cup. Of course it's a concern but this is a world occasion. You would like to let people in for as little as possible but those days are gone. Once the game went professional, income had to be generated. That is the way life is."
He has an equally pragmatic attitude to the issue of television's growing influence in the sport.
Issues such as excessive matches, as in the Tri-Nations last year, he has addressed. But what of kick-off times, most of which draw complaints? "If we take less money from the TV people, we will have every kick-off at 2.30 on a Saturday. But look at the money they are paying: how would we make up that shortfall?
"So you have to accept it. They give rugby union a huge amount of their revenues and we have to compromise."
Millar forecasts more difficulties down the road but believes they can be solved.
