Since rugby union introduced professionalism in 1995, the sport has seen many changes over the years to help the game's worldwide growth.
In the space of 16 years, the face of the game has changed forever with the introduction of wider television audiences, increased match attendances and changes in the game-playing rules.
On the field, the game has evoloved with more emphasis being placed on physicality with bigger players meaning more injuries and larger squad numbers.
And off the field, rugby is a sport which continues to grow and recieve coverage from all corners of the globe.
In the likes of New Zealand, Samoa, Wales and Fiji for example, the 15-man game is seen as a religion, a way of life. Rugby reignes supreme as the national sport meaning all forms of rugby are of significant importance to the rugby mad public.
In Australia, the game has stagnated in recent years. Union appears to be at a crossroads in terms of forging an identity due to a heavy rugby league influence. For the NSW Waratahs, attendances have been plummeting with their style of rugby often criticised in the press. They are having to play in the shadow of the established State of Origin series and world-renowned NRL competition, amongst the world's elite.
The Wallabies haven't got a domestic competition structure in place so they must rely heavily on the Super 15. With australian rules and cricket also attracting large Australian interest, union struggles to grow despite the introduction of a fifth franchsie to the Super 15 competition in the shape of Melbourne Rebels.
In England, rugby union is in rude health as demonstrated most recently by the 80,000+ crowd who were at Twickenham to witness England's World Cup warm-up encounter against Wales. Many youngsters partake in some form of the game at a young age at grass-roots level to develop later on in their sporting careers..
Domestically, the Aviva Premiership is going from strength to strength whilst the Heineken Cup is still renowned as the best club competition in the world.
But disappointingly, northern rugby is struggling to hold its place amongst the elite with Leeds Carnegie, Newcastle Falcons and Sale Sharks all competing in the lower reaches of the division.
For all the strides that the English game has made since the turn of the decade, the comparisons with football simply won't disappear as union is often cast in the shadow of their illustrious counterparts.
On a daily basis, the newspaper back-pages are covered with footballing debate as the game still recieves the bulk of media coverage from all forms.
It will take a long time before union is considered as England's national sport and it won't be an overnight transition, more a long, drawn out process.
Staying in the UK with Scotland, the sheer size of the country means a limited player pool is inevitable. In terms of international sporting success in both football and union, the Tartan Army have always struggled to compete against more established sporting nations. They play with all the pride and passion needed to succeed but sadly that little sprinkle of quality is sadly lacking.
The Scots do take their sport very seriously and it would be refreshing to see them competing on a world stage in latter stages of major tournaments but with only two professional clubs to call on, the future of Scottish Rugby understandably looks a little bleak.
Having Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby as the sole Magners League representatives, it is hard to see where the game shall develop and grow. Due to the lack of domestic alternatives, they qualify for European rugby ever year and are clear of the threat of relegation.
The professional era accounted for the demise of the Border Reivers who struggled with the transition and were forced to cut their losses and fold. A similar outcome accounted for the Welsh region Celtic Warriors.
Since they were introducted into the expanded Five Nations in 2000, Italian rugby has slowly seen the benefits, becoming accostomed to annualy competing against the best sides in the northern hemisphere. The growth has been steady for Italy but with two teams, Benneton Treviso and Aironi Rugby, now competing in the Magners League, this should improve their domestic and international prospects in years to come.
Their players shall be playing against more high-quality opposition which in turn should benefit the national team. It has taken them a long time to get to where they are and hopefully Italian rugby can continue to defy the odds and reap the success of all their hard work.
With Italy reaping the reward from continued exposure at the highest level, Argentina will be looking for the same impact in the expanded Tri-Nations. After years of campaigning, the Pumas have finally got their wish having been accepted into future Tri-Nations competitions.
But domestically, they have a poor structure meaning many of their leading lights ply their trade in European competition, such as Felipe Contepomi, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Martin Hernandez.
France appear to be one of the most strongest nations in these current times. Les Bleus are strong if inconsistent and the Top 14 is now packed with star-studded internationals from other nations who come to France for the huge pay packets and lifestyle.
As we approach the World Cup in which 20-teams shall battle it out for ultimate supremacy, it is important to know that worldwide, we are in a encouraging position.
Post-tournament, lets hope that this sport can continue to expand, evolve, and excite.
