I think that had we been asked this question after Australia 2003, where the Wallabies put 142 past Namibia, we would have all agreed that 20 teams is too much.

However, this World Cup has shown how the smaller nations are getting better and how the gap is not that huge anymore. Besides, if you think about it, teams like Argentina and Italy used to be easybeats until 1999, and yet nowadays they are among the world's strongest teams. Have a look at Georgia. This is perhaps the team that has improved the most, and due to their performance in this WC they'll be given extra funding by their government, which will definitely help rugby develop over there.

Let's not turn rugby into cricket, where you got 10 teams enjoying all of the cake while the rest have a go at their crumbs. (This comes from an Argie cricketer heheh)