The World Cup has raised questions about how rugby should be played, and I can foresee monumental changes over the next two years, writes John Connolly.

The World Cup has raised questions about how rugby should be played, and I can foresee monumental changes over the next two years.

The great thing about rugby is it's a universal game played in more than 100 countries. The bad thing is it's difficult to change the way it is played. Decisions on law are made by the International Rugby Board while decisions on competitions are generally worked out by the countries themselves.

There's no doubt the power lies in the northern hemisphere, home to six of the nine top-tier countries that control the IRB.

From what I've read since the World Cup, the northerners are happy with the current laws and how the game is run. South Africa are understandably delighted, while Australia have some issues.

We are facing some big challenges over the next couple of years. Here are the five major issues:

■ POINT-SCORING

The thing about rugby is that once you change one rule, it can have a knock-on effect to the whole fabric of the game. A change in the point-scoring would definitely encourage players to go for tries.

A try has to be elevated to six points, while penalties need to drop back to two unless they are for foul play. A field goal should be only one point, which would mean they were most likely to be attempted only towards the end of games, as in rugby league.

If you were to combine that with the law changes, we would have a far better game.

■ LAW CHANGES

Outgoing IRB boss Syd Millar has indicated the Stellenbosch Laws, trialled successfully in the Australian Rugby Championship, should be used in the Super 14. I believe this would be a great move.

A number of coaches, including Eddie Jones and Laurie Fisher, have a few issues with the laws but my only real concern is about hands in the ruck in the breakdown. There could be a safety concern there. But most of the laws get big ticks. For instance, I like not having to pass the ball back into your 22-metre and that infringements earn a short-arm penalty instead of a scrum. This allows the game to flow.

There is no doubt that constant scrum repacking in world rugby is annoying. The northern hemisphere are of the opinion that everything is OK and, in reading the South African press, there isn't a real drive for change there. But we need to make the game a more attractive spectacle.

■ HOW MANY TEAMS AT CUP

One of the biggest questions about the next World Cup is whether we retain 20 teams or cut it down to 16. I suggest we shouldn't be reducing the number. Why go backwards when we have tried so hard to make the game go forward?

■ FIJI, SAMOA AND TONGA

Fiji, Samoa and Tonga were great success stories at the World Cup and should all remain in the tournament.

In the short term they should come together to form a composite Super 14 team playing out of Suva, with 33 contracted players from the islands.

An academy needs to be established and would also protect the three island countries' rights to stand alone in the future. We would then have pools of players from their composite side from which to choose, plus a couple of their players will be playing overseas. It would give these countries a pathway for their players and coaches. It's up to SANZAR to make it happen.

■ ARGENTINA

Argentina have demanded entry into the Tri Nations or an expanded Six Nations tournament after their great performance at the World Cup. In my view, making the Six Nations into seven nations is the obvious answer.

Most of their players play in the northern hemisphere and I believe it fits well. The other reason is because it will probably be some time before we see another professional team join an expanded Super 14. The ball is in the court of the Six Nations in terms of the possibility of playing out of Buenos Aires.

As we come to grips with the narrow loss to England and go through a week or two of what-ifs, we need to look to the future and make sensible, rational decisions for our game.