Recent content by TheHaydog

Bands confirmed for RWC 2027, (note order within bands could still change) Band 1: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Argentina Band 2: Australia, Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales, Japan Band 3: Georgia, Spain, USA, Uruguay, Chile, Tonga Band 4: Samoa, Portugal, Romania, Hong...

Wales play Japan in the end of year internationals. Think that will likely determine who ends up in Pot 2 or 3 between the two. Unless something drastic happens, the pots will remain reasonably steady, with some alteration around the fine margins. Who's ranked 6/7, 12/13, etc. The really tight...

Doing the editing for Super Rugby Crowds on Wikipedia often means finding the same ol reliable sources from time to time. Main thing is waiting ages for end of season annual reports from the Waratahs, Blues and Canes. Provided the Blues and Canes don't take games elsewhere, they will have a...

Super Rugby would be a better tournament for more rivalries, better engagement and better marketing. It lacks severly in those departments IMO NZ could've sustained 14 Super Rugby teams by this point, if it had realized the tribalism associated with the NPC, was not worth trading in, to be part...

5/6 attendances reported for Round 1 Chiefs vs Crusaders:16,119 Rebels vs Brumbies:4,000 Force vs Hurricanes:7,855 Highlanders vs Moana:12,496 Reds vs Waratahs:14,593 Average attendance of 11,012 Just missing Blues vs Drua

Unsure if it's been mentioned here or not. The Rebels have quite a good schedule, especially in the first half of the season. First 4: Brumbies (H), Force (H), Moana (A), Reds (H) Second 4: Canes (A), Tahs (A), Drua (H), Highlanders (H) Third 4: Bye, Crusaders (A), Blues (H), Reds (A) Final 3...

In its current form, adding 2 automatic spots to both Europe and the Americas would make the most sense. Before a dog's breakfast of a repechage takes place. If any teams from 2023 were to miss out next time, it would probably be either or both Romania and Namibia. The latter might end up being...

Definitely going to be some new teams present at the next RWC which will be a positive for the game, curious to see who people think they are going to be.

The main positive is that the World Cup is finally expanding to 24 teams in 2027. It'd be interesting to see what teams will end up qualifying in those 4 spots. A lot of the qualifying stuff depends on how many spots are allocated to each continent or whether they pursue a larger repechage going...

Comparing Portugal's campaign to their only previous appearance back in 2007 shows a marked improvement. Especially in points scored and conceded. Points conceded in particular have halved and they conceded the least points to Wales of any team in Pool C 2007:38-209 (-171) 2023:64-103 (-39)

Unusually, there were multiple reported attendances for the Quarter-Finals with 3 out of 4 Announced Blues vs Waratahs: 12,941 Chiefs vs Reds: 15,500 Brumbies vs Hurricanes: 8,875 A recent Newshub article also mentioned the Blues averaging 16,147 fans per game this season. They almost...

The final standings for 2023 were quite similar to last year. Only 2 notable changes. The Chiefs and Blues swapped, as well as the Drua went up the ladder with many more home fixtures than previously. Not to mention the QFs are quite similar to last year. Brumbies vs Hurricanes is set to repeat...

Can't see Moana Pasifika lasting more than one more season for a few reasons. Their form along with their ability to retain coaching and player talent appears to be lacking. A clear objective behind the teams' purpose is muddled and it's seemingly led to confusion as to what their role as a team...

Good point, overlooked that factor. Hence the 2 PM Sunday kickoff suggestion, although if it is subject to the same downfall as the Saturday games, it might not succeed.

Spend the other night adding several attendance figures to the 2022 SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) Page, often through having to seek out end-of-season annual reports where the teams/stadiums hide most of their numbers. (Blues, Hurricanes, and Waratahs especially). Generally speaking, transparency around crowd numbers has...