Current IRB Rankings

[Braveheart81]

I think the problem with that idea is that it is hard to schedule too many games between smaller nations and larger nations because the rugby calendar is pretty packed and the professional leagues and international tournaments such as The Rugby Championship, Six Nations and the various Spring Tours are what drives revenue for the big rugby nations.

Whilst it might be good experience for the smaller nations to get to play the larger nations more often, it would decrease revenue from the sport which would affect every nation.

Due to the physical nature of the sport and matches needing to be scheduled about one week apart, it is hard to hold any sort of tournament in a short period of time.

 

[D-Box]

But isn't this part of the problem? We protect the revenue streams of the big countries and don't open them up to the small countries. All this ensures is that the big get bigger and the small get smaller. Elite rugby is an expensive game. You often hear comments about the smaller nations having the skills but not being able to compete in fitness and size. While I know that part of this is getting the players time to train, if you want to have good a good strength and conditioning and team medical (doc and physio) set up you would need probably around $400,000 a year just in staff salaries. We hear the ARU and NZRFU complaining that they loose too much money in RWC years, but how about those countries who only get a chance for money in RWC years!

 

[Braveheart81]

The IRB flows a lot of money to smaller rugby nations primarily from the hundreds of millions of dollars generated during the RWC. The top tier nations are what makes it possible to generate that revenue in the first place.

Arguably it is the same reason why the Socceroos don't get to play Brazil and Argentina regularly for experience. There are limited opportunities for international teams to play each other so matches are scheduled based on necessary qualifying etc.

Rugby has the issue that the depth falls away very quickly after the top tier nations. If you look at the actual matches played by minnows to qualify for the RWC, there are a lot of matches played.

 

[RoffsChoice]

The gap between 4th and 5th is much, much larger than I would have expected on the table. Not come game day, mind you, but still very large.

 

[Roundawhile]

The gap between 4th and 5th is much, much larger than I would have expected on the table. Not come game day, mind you, but still very large.

Close enough to 4 points, which is substantial.

Until you look at 1 vs 2 - 6 points! That is the same span of teams 5 to 12.

The Darkness are in a league of their own, unfortunately

 

[Jnor]

So we're number one now that the ABs lost to the Poms, right?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

The Darkness have a such a lead that last nights match didn't matter for #1 position.

Did the result impact on the Soap Dodgers position? Could they sneak into 4th position over Les Blues? They need to gain 4 IRB points to pass Les Frogge.

 

[KevinO]

1 New Zealand - 90.08 points
2 South Africia - 86.94
3 Australia - 86.87
4 France - 85.07

5 England - 83.90
6 Ireland - 80.22
7 Samoa - 78.71
8 Argentina - 78.71

9 Wales - 78.39
10 Italy - 76.24
11 Tonga - 76.10
12 Scotland - 75.83

That's the rankings as it stands, can we expand the new format of the Rugby Championship include Samoa sooner than later. Surely they have proven they deserve a chance to play in a major tournament and would be a major step in developing the game.

Wales dropped to 9th after last night, England closed the gap on France and put some space between them and Ireland.

 

[qwerty51]

Samoa won't happen any time soon. The reality is playing in Samoa is not feasible atm.

 

[p.Tah]

Samoa won't happen any time soon. The reality is playing in Samoa is not feasible atm.

SANZAR broadast deal finishes in 2015. I would love Samoa to be included in the Rugby Championship from 2016 onwards. The IRB would have to force the European clubs to release the Samoan players as they do for Argentina.

Apia Park isn't suitable for a Rugby Championship match. Perhaps in time a better facilty could be built. In the meantime Samoa could play their 'home' games in Auckland (Mt Smart or North Harbour) and/or Sydney (Parramatta Stadium).

 

[KevinO]

Apia Park isn't suitable for a Rugby Championship match. Perhaps in time a better facilty could be built. In the meantime Samoa could play their 'home' games in Auckland (Mt Smart or North Harbour) and/or Sydney (Parramatta Stadium).

I'd say Samoa could play at any stadium in Oz or Nz and sell tickets. The revenue they would raise in one season of being in the Rugby Championship would go a long way to the Redevelopment of Apia Park.

 

[No4918]

Somoa and Tonga would be nice for our draw.

The Somoans are going very well at the moment but by the time the next RWC starts they could easily have slipped out of the 10. What's the reason for getting the draw done so early?

 

[stoff]

I think it comes from the need to lock the seeded spots so that there is certainty about who plays in the lower level qualifying tournaments. It is really more driven by positions 9-12 in the rankings than 1-4. Once they can lock that away, there are two seasons worth of internationals for the remaining 80 odd nations to complete their qualification tournaments prior to RWC 2015.

 

[D-Box]

I think it comes from the need to lock the seeded spots so that there is certainty about who plays in the lower level qualifying tournaments. It is really more driven by positions 9-12 in the rankings than 1-4. Once they can lock that away, there are two seasons worth of internationals for the remaining 80 odd nations to complete their qualification tournaments prior to RWC 2015.

But they already know who has qualified the instant the pool rounds finish at the previous RWC. As far as I understand while the seeding are based on the rankings if you finished 3rd or higher in your pool at the world cup you can be sitting 20th in the rankings and will still go through as the 12th seed.

As I said earlier in the thread - wouldn't it be great if there were no automatic qualifiers and everyone had to play a qualifying series of some description two years out.

 

[stoff]

But they already know who has qualified the instant the pool rounds finish at the previous RWC. As far as I understand while the seeding are based on the rankings if you finished 3rd or higher at the world cup you can be sitting 20th in the rankings and will still go through as the 12th seed.

I stand corrected. Only other reason I can think of is that the rankings should be least disrupted the further away from a Lions tour you are as every four years, five countries national sides experience a level of disruption when compared to the other nations who aren't having similar additional demands placed on their playing stocks. I'm probably grasping at straws now.