What an edge these autumn internationals have been given.

What drama could unfold as sides trade positions in the IRB rankings throughout the course of Saturday as the scoreboards chop and change.

Rugby Union has World Cup qualifiers, but with all due respect to the clashes between the likes of the Cayman Islands and Trinidad & Tobago, they hardly stir the blood.

The sport lacks the nail-biting tension that its round ball cousin delivers almost annually as the best nations in the world leave their fans sick to the pit of their stomachs at the thought of missing out on the next major tournament because of some fluffed chance on a potholed pitch in a snowy Eastern European city – or the witless management of a wally with a brolly.

It would be fair to say the IRB has had more knockers than a glamour model convention of late, but for the decision to hinge World Cup seedings on its rankings at the end of the November internationals, it should be applauded.

It leaves us with games that mean more now than just another barometer by which to judge how well a team is progressing. England, France and Argentina know that defeat could leave them with one of the Tri Nations in their group in New Zealand 2011.

Victory assures that they will be at the top of the food chain when the pools are picked out of the hat. In other words, sod the performance; winning is all that matters.

For Ireland and Scotland the situation is dicier still. Little more than a year since they were outclassed and dumped out of the last World Cup by Argentina, the Irish face the Pumas again and know that if they lose and the Scots complete the far easier task of thumping Canada, they will be up against two of the big boys in 2011.

If the IRB rankings weren’t as complicated to understand as Einstein’s theory of relativity, and if the games had all been scheduled to kick off at the same time, we could have had a live update graphic in the corner of the screen showing the countries shuffle places as tries were scored and penalties kicked.

France’s Cedric Heymans, for one, has got his kickers in a twist about that.

Les Bleus don’t start against Australia until 8.00pm on what will be a soggy Saturday night in Paris.

“We know that we could grab fourth place if we beat Australia and England lose their next two games against South Africa and New Zealand. That’s highly important, it could alter the face of the World Cup,” he said.

“I don’t understand how people could schedule such an important game at 2100 (2000 GMT) in November.

“All my team mates agree, and we already said so after the Argentina test. We know perfectly well that in November in Paris, at 2100, there will be humidity and maybe rain, it will be cold, the pitch will be slippery and the ball difficult to handle.”

Talk about get your excuses in early. But he has a point.

Perhaps one positive step at a time is a good thing, and the game is all the better for the IRB making a sensible decision that will enhance every spectator’s enjoyment.

Now, if they could just apply that theory to the ELVs.