Scotty
David Codey (61)
Only because of the team we selected not because of rankings or form.
England v Australia, Saturday 3 December
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Only because of the team we selected not because of rankings or form.
Scrubber2050
Mark Ella (57)
Yeah BH - might have been a slow germinating seed stuck in the bottom of a canoe
I think there's a pretty reasonable chance we would have still been the underdog just by not as much.
We lose more often than not in Paris against France so I don't think we start as favourites there very often regardless of the World Rugby Rankings.
Scotty
David Codey (61)
Err. 2nd in the world surely isn't expected to go 6 from 14.
Even if you discount the NZ games it is only 6 from 11. Pretty bloody average if you ask me!
In saying that I'm definitely seeing signs of improvement.
This is why we've dropped to 3rd and now could drop to 4th.
If we'd beaten Ireland and then England we would have been a chance at retaining our 2nd place ranking from the RWC with an 8 from 15 season.
Zero_Cool
Arch Winning (36)
I actually think Australia would be best served by dropping to 4th, it would put us on the oppisite side of the draw to the All Blacks. I'm not sure if it's possible that the Six Nations can create a situation that has it mathematically possible for the Wallabies to fall to 4th.
dru
David Wilson (68)
So if we lower expectations to say being 8th in the world any result above that says it all dandy and we are truly champions
Fuck, now I feel better
Top 5 probably. No it doesnt feel any better.
Scrubber2050
Mark Ella (57)
No I don't feel better either. I believe in striving for number 1. I am hard to please.
That doesn't mean I wouldn't be happy with number 2. I believe that position in world rugby is achievable but will require some different things to be done at the top (by our coaches and players and some of the issues surrounding both).
Wallowing at 3, 4, 5 or 6 means failure to me. If, as a supporter, people are happy with that then I think those people are muppets
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
No, not if we were still second in the world but we have been fluctuating between 3rd and 5th.
A more objective way to look at it is this:
England and New Zealand are the two teams ahead of us and we haven't beaten either of them. Ireland beat us by 3 points with the home advantage. Ireland have beaten NZ, but they also got beaten twice by the Boks earlier in the year, but beat them once as well. We beat the Boks at home but they beat us at altitude and they have clearly been struggling since then. Everyone else below us we have beaten.
I reckon the rankings are about right except that us and Ireland are on par for the 3rd spot at the moment. If we beat England we will justifiably climb to 2nd and then it will be up to Ireland to challenge us for that spot, or for England to get it back, during the 6 nations.
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
Sure it works like that? Thought everyone got drawn out of the hat (metaphorical or otherwise) rather than the top 4 teams just being assigned pool numbers
Highlander35 is correct.
The top 4 ranked teams are drawn at random to a pool.
Assuming we manage to maintain a top 4 ranking it will be pure luck whether we're on the side of the draw which meets the All Blacks in the semi final or not.
The top 4 ranked teams are drawn at random to a pool.
Assuming we manage to maintain a top 4 ranking it will be pure luck whether we're on the side of the draw which meets the All Blacks in the semi final or not.
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
So, if the pools were drawn tomorrow, the pots would "probably" look like this:
Pot 1: New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland
Pot 2: Wales, South Africa, Scotland, France
Pot 3: Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Italy
Pot 4: Oceania 1 (Fiji), Oceania 2 (Tonga), Europe 1 (Romania), America 1 (USA)
Pot 5: Oceania 3/Europe 2 (Samoa/Russia), America 2 (Canada), Africa 1 (Namibia) Repêchage.
With the Repêchage involving loser of the Europe-Oceania Playoff (Samoa/Russia), Africa 2 (Kenya), America 3 (Uruguay) and the winner of the Oceania-Asia Playoff (Cook Islands/Hong Kong).
Based on Current World Rankings, and cross continental playoffs being in the bottom tier.
Pot 1: New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland
Pot 2: Wales, South Africa, Scotland, France
Pot 3: Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Italy
Pot 4: Oceania 1 (Fiji), Oceania 2 (Tonga), Europe 1 (Romania), America 1 (USA)
Pot 5: Oceania 3/Europe 2 (Samoa/Russia), America 2 (Canada), Africa 1 (Namibia) Repêchage.
With the Repêchage involving loser of the Europe-Oceania Playoff (Samoa/Russia), Africa 2 (Kenya), America 3 (Uruguay) and the winner of the Oceania-Asia Playoff (Cook Islands/Hong Kong).
Based on Current World Rankings, and cross continental playoffs being in the bottom tier.
PeterK
Alfred Walker (16)
only 2nd because wallabies over achieved in 2015.
Besides they had the o/s giteau's players then.
In june they weren't available.
If you look at the players man for man and other countries wallabies easily played above their weight to be 2nd.
PeterK
Alfred Walker (16)
If wallabies lose to england they stay 3rd.
Sure after 6n's they could drop to 4th , probably will if ireland only lose to england, can't be bothered to work it out.
PeterK
Alfred Walker (16)
No that is not quite true.
1 and 2 seeds are put on the other side of the draw so if they win their pools and qf it is impossible for 1 and 2 to meet in a semi.
3rd and 4th are allocated randomly, followed by 5-8 randomly, followed by 9-12 etc assuming 4 pools of course.
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
4th is a legit possibility, and not necessarily an inaccurate one.
Having played around with the rankings calculator, even if you have a big (15+) loss to England, only one of Wales and Ireland can finish ahead of you, even if they, (and after them, England) beat everyone else by more than 15, there's not quite enough points available for them.
Having played around with the rankings calculator, even if you have a big (15+) loss to England, only one of Wales and Ireland can finish ahead of you, even if they, (and after them, England) beat everyone else by more than 15, there's not quite enough points available for them.
Scotty
David Codey (61)
If that is what you want to believe. I myself believe we should aim for 1st and be happy with no less than 2nd.
Spruce Moose
Fred Wood (13)
Yep looking at rankings now and assuming that Ireland and England have a strong 6 Nations you would expect that we will be 4th. However the scary thing is having Argentina in pot 3 which would mean likely there is a pool of death in Japan with potentially Japan in good form with the home world cup. Worst cases for mine:
Australia
South Africa/France
Argentina/Japan
Fiji
Canada
Either of these scare me just as much as England Wales last year.
Also sorry for going off track, I had another question. As this is a non-club approved international weekend are there any English players not allowed to play the test like Genia?
Australia
South Africa/France
Argentina/Japan
Fiji
Canada
Either of these scare me just as much as England Wales last year.
Also sorry for going off track, I had another question. As this is a non-club approved international weekend are there any English players not allowed to play the test like Genia?
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
Nope. One of the conditions of RFU sending funding to the clubs. Plus they don't select players outside the Premiership.
They do play nice most of the time though. Mostly only 1 extra International in November, and occasionally an extra one in late May/Early June where they don't select players from teams in the playoffs.
With the exception of George North, who has a release written into the contract, they do deny other players releases outside the windows.
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