In a way, it is totally unfair to compare the two events as they have little in common besides the fact they happen to be taking place in the same country in the space of less than a year.

Rugby World Cup matches were staged in 12 cities across France with 20 countries taking part in a tournament that was so long, it started with spectators wearing tee-shirts and shorts and ended with them being wrapped up in their winter coats.

That is compared with the estimated 10,500 athletes from 206 countries who will arrive next year for the Olympics. The sites are almost exclusively located in Paris and Ile-de-France - if we ignore the surfing in Tahiti, of course - and will stage the equivalent of 32 world championships over 17 days.

In the end, the Rugby World Cup has not changed anything about our understanding of Paris 2024. The main concerns still centre around security and transport, two areas long identified as having potential to cause major harm to the Games.

At the beginning of the Rugby World Cup, it appeared that the French authorities really had not learnt anything from the terrible scenes at the 2022 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the Stade de France in Paris when the event descended into chaos.

Liverpool supporters trying to get into the ground suffered a near disaster and riot police teargassed spectators while failing to protect people from violent attacks by local thugs. The French Government, including Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera, police and UEFA initially tried to place the blame on English spectators, claiming that the chaos was caused by thousands seeking entry with fake tickets.

Several inquiries since have absolved the Liverpool fans of blame and called the claims by Oudéa-Castera and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, that they were somehow responsible, "reprehensible".

Oudéa-Castera tried to reassure everyone before the start of the Rugby World Cup that such scenes would not be repeated, but in England’s opening match against Argentina at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille fans faced major delays and congestion entering the ground.

Fans were left queuing outside the Paris 2024 football venue after kickoff, with reports that some were granted entry despite stewards not recognising their seat allocation.

Oudéa-Castera personally took control after that incident and the rest of the tournament, which was attended by 2,437,208 fans, meaning each match had an average of 50,775 for each game, seemed to pass off without any further such incidents.

There was, however, frequent negative reports about transport problems, including overcrowding as supporters tried to get home after matches. It appeared particularly acute after South Africa’s semi-final victory over England at the Stade de France, a match attended by a crowd of 78,098.

According to Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), they will be responsible for transporting 500,000 spectators each day during the Olympics.

IDFM has promised to increase transport by 15 per cent during next summer, although this will require finding an additional 2,700 bus drivers. There are fears that if, even by some miracle, they manage to recruit all these new drivers, there is not enough time to train them.

There are concerns about whether the Paris Metro, now over 120 years old, will be up to dealing with the additional strain on its service. It is already the most used public transport system in the French capital, carrying 1.5 billion passengers a year, making it the second biggest in Europe behind the Moscow Metro.

But there were similar concerns about transport before the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in London, and that coped.

The heat could be another problem with the Olympics due to take place between July 26 and August 11, a period this year when large swathes of Europe were suffering record temperatures. The capital city is the most vulnerable in Europe when it comes to heatwaves according to a recent article from The Lancet journal. Its population faces the highest risk of heatwave-related deaths across all age groups. By 2050, Paris could reach temperatures of up to 50 centigrade.

Again, though, there were worse fears in the year before the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo - before it was re-arranged due to the COVID-19 outbreak. When it did take place a year later, temperatures in the Japanese capital were often uncomfortable, but not a risk to most people’s health.

A bigger issue in Paris could be the determination of the French organisers not to install air conditioning in athletes’ accommodation as part of its sustainability commitment.

The Rugby World Cup, thankfully, passed off without any major security issue but the Olympic Games faces a whole different threat.  

The Rugby World Cup is a massive event in the participating countries but in most places it passed largely unnoticed, which will not be the case for the Olympics when the eyes of the whole world will be focussed on Paris.

France has long been a target for terrorist attacks, much of it linked to Islamic extremism. According to official data by Europol, France has witnessed more jihadist attacks than any other European Union member since 2014, when the Islamic State established its so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria.  

The decision by Paris 2024 to stage the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics outside of a stadium to take in the sights and iconic locations around the city is bold and innovative - but also potentially dangerous.

A parade of athletes will be conducted along the River Seine, with boats for each nation, crossing through the centre of Paris for six kilometres in front of 600,000 spectators. To a terrorist group, the temptation to try to target it could prove too much.

The world is in a fragile state at the moment and the situation in the Middle East sparked by the Hamas attack on Israel followed by Tel Aviv’s retaliation is rekindling deep tensions in France.

France is home to around half a million Jews, more than anywhere else outside of Israel and the United States, while Muslims, mostly of North African descent, account for at least six million of France's 70-million-strong population. It is the biggest Muslim community in Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron is working a tightrope, trying to balance its strong support for Israel's fight against Hamas with an equally firm stance on the protection of Palestinian civilians.

Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet has tried repeatedly to reassure people that the Opening Ceremony will be safe and a huge celebration of sport and France. 

This year’s Rugby World Cup will certainly go down in history as a great success, was well-organised and internationally praised, which he will be hoping is a good omen.