Graph of player numbers in each RWC nation

[teach]

And you also have to play to the strengths of the boys in front of you. For all I know they had lost 4 enormous forwards due to injury and had adapted their game plan. I was just lucky with the boys that I coached. We had a couple of huge props, a forward pack that loved the tight stuff, with a very small, but very skillfull back line. Beats those years where either forwards or backs are crap.

Anyway, here is a skite video of the lads in a couple of games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_ymBnOAUhk

 

[Antony]

How about that fend at 2:58?

Get. That. Outta here.

 

[BDA]

very interesting graph. Would also be interesting to put Australia's league and Aussie rules player base on this graph. our Aussie rules base would be much large than South Africa's circle on the graph.

The problem with rugby in the states is that 99% of the most talented athelete will enter the most respected sports (basketball, American football, Baseball). The American's are in a world of their own. The abovementioned sports will always be the focus of the american community. Certainly the new 10 team league that is set to launch will see the game grow in the States but the money will always be in the traditional american sports.... for the next 100 years at least

 

[BDA]

In my backpacking days I found myself in a bar with a couple of Yanks and watched a game from start to finish of American Football.

It's a bloody great game & once you start to look at it like a game of Chess, it's fantastic to watch. The athletic ability of the running backs and the size and ferocity of the linebackers is awesome once you appreciate what they are looking to do.

If you've ever wondered how it works, watch a full game with a couple of passionate fans. By the time you get to the end, you'll get it. Especially, if like me, you are partial to the odd rugby game which the media (spit) will desribe as an arm wrestle.

Completely agree....Although my problem with American Football is that it is missing one essential element that sets our two games apart....Endurence!...I'm not suggesting that players aren't fatigued at the end of 3 and 1/2 hours of play, but there really is no comparision with playing 80 minutes of rugby. The stats support this, given that on average NFL players run a tiny percentage of the distance that rugby players cover in one game. Splitting attack and defense means that players spend half the game on the bench, and even when they'r on the field they are very rarely 'in play'. I'v never watched an NFL game and seem a team lose in the last quarter because of tiring legs.

That's my observation anyway.

 

[08umema]

Jesus H Christ - England's like fucking Jupiter on that graph.

had to have a laugh when i saw your post.

 

[Bullrush]

Completely agree....Although my problem with American Football is that it is missing one essential element that sets our two games apart....Endurence!...I'm not suggesting that players aren't fatigued at the end of 3 and 1/2 hours of play, but there really is no comparision with playing 80 minutes of rugby. The stats support this, given that on average NFL players run a tiny percentage of the distance that rugby players cover in one game. Splitting attack and defense means that players spend half the game on the bench, and even when they'r on the field they are very rarely 'in play'. I'v never watched an NFL game and seem a team lose in the last quarter because of tiring legs.

That's my observation anyway.

I'd agree that NFL players don't run anywhere as much as what rugby/league etc players do but the 'rarely in play' comment just isn't true. I'd say that those players who aren't in the play are often the ones who actually make the play. It's the guys making the blocks on the left side of the field that make the TD on the other side. Or the players who contain the outside on D who force the play and the tackle in the middle. It's the guys putting all the pressure on at the line who make is possible for the plays everywhere else to happen.

Gridiron really is a game where you are often only as strong as your weakest link. I think it's a lot harder to 'hide' individuals anyway.

 

[BDA]

You're right. Suppose what I was referring to there was the amount of stoppage time, which greatly outweighs the amount of actual 'time on'. There is a fair bit of stoppage time in Rugby too but it really only amounts to about a quarter/third of the game.

 

[BDA]

I also find that the way the game has developed has created great 'specialty players' that certainly, in general at least, arent as well rounded as rugby players. For instance, you have some ridiculously strong defensive lineman, but they would be useless in a game of rugby where they actually have to get around the field.

 

[Bullrush]

Yep....totally agree. And you can see it in their body shapes. But the roles in gridiron are so specialised and defined that there is no where as much cross-over as there is in our codes. It's very rare to find a Giteau or Toeava type player who can fill almost every spot in a back line. Even going from the O-Line to the D-Line requires a completely different skill-set. Of course, that's probably why NFL squads have 50-odd players.

It's not unusual here in Aussie or back home in NZ for guys to play multiple positions but that's more due to the minority of the sport and low player numbers. The best wide reciver in the team can also the best safety or corner back as well so he plays both ways.

The other thing is the attention to detail they give to every part of the game. From the stance to the first step to the breakdown to the catch......every little part of a movement is broken down and practised to get it perfect every time.

In saying that, I remember some US coaches coming to NZ to take a clinic with the players and one of the drills they were doing was basically how to side-step or juke. They were like, "When you run up to the cone, you need to break down into smaller steps, plant your outside foot and transfer your weight and blah blah blah....." Once he'd finished, one of the 130kg linemen said "Like this?", ran up to the cone and stepped it like he was playing touch. Coaches eyeballs just about dropped out of his head....

 

[Mank]

While the last thing I want is America to be good at yet another sport, I can't help but think this would be good for rugby... Right?

I don't know about this. It all depends on what you mean good for rugby. I still play club rugby, and love it. I enjoy watching local clubs games, CC, S15 and internationals. How would a more commercialised, advert dominated, Americanised version of rugby be more 'good' for me?

 

[FairWeatherAussie]

What this graph tells me is that the US will likely be quite good at rugby quite soon. They have a large and growing player pool, good retention rates and with more and more attention being paid to the dangers of American football there are going to be a lot of kids shunted towards rugby as the less brutal of contact sports. They have a pro comp starting in a few years, or so I'm told, which can only help. They also have a potentially powerful development network in the NCAA (college sports).

While the last thing I want is America to be good at yet another sport, I can't help but think this would be good for rugby... Right?

America's always had a lot of players, and the standard can be quite good at the lower levels. But at the higher levels they will always have to compete with American Football for the best players, and they haven't a hope in hell of the fastest and strongest athletes choosing an amateur sport over the million dollar paychecks of American Football.

 

[#1?]

Aren't the Yanks the defending Olympic Gold Medalists?

Roll on 2016.

 

[Swat]

This is a pretty interesting graphic depicting the number of players in each RWC country versus the number of senior males.

Some interesting and surprising statistics.

Sourced from Rugby Magazine.

Australia has a far higher retention of senior males than NZ.

Can someone redo one of these for the Lions? It'd be interesting to see the disparity in playing numbers when combing England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland... some updated numbers would be good too given these are from 2011.

If someone steps up to the plate.....

 

[Rassie]

How many of that different players are their own nationalities?

 

[FingalRaven]

There is an ever increasing number of american colleges offering rugby scholarships. Imagine if they tapped into their massive Samoan population base.
From what I understand, in the past the American RFU have targeted College age players who have not made the cut at that level, offering them another sport.
We have had a few casual enquiries at school about hosting American high schools on tours of NZ. So it is starting to grow. We already host UK and Aussie based teams. We just had 2 Chilean teams play our 1st and 2nd XVs last weekend.

Most of the American Samoans of decent size go to the NFL. More money to be earned than playing Rugby for the USA.

CBSSports 2010

60 MINUTES goes to American Samoa to find out how a territory with a population less than the capacity of a pro-football stadium sends more players to the NFL than any similarly populated place in America. In fact, boys born to Samoan parents are estimated to be 56 times more likely to play in the NFL than other Americans, reports Scott Pelley in his story to be broadcast Sunday, Jan. 17 (8-9 p.m., ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
The Samoan people tend to be on the larger side and the islands’ six high schools have sent 10 linemen to the NFL in the last five years. One of those 10 NFL linemen who played Samoan high school ball is the Cincinnati Bengals’ Domata Peko, who says Samoans’ speed plays a role as well. “The combination of size and ability and speed, that’s kind of hard to find. Big dudes who can have nimble feet and are able to run and go sideline to sideline,” says Peko. Peko’s teammate, another Samoan named Jonathan Fanene, is a defensive end who proves Peko’s point with his six sacks and a touchdown this season. Says Fanene, “With the talent that we have, we have to take pride of it, especially when you have the opportunity to come to the mainland.”
Fanene’s little, well, not so little, brother, 17-yr.-old Aiulua, is poised to follow in Jonathan’s footsteps. At 6-5 and 280lbs., he’s considering offers from Arizona University and Oregon State. Like many other Samoans, he does a day’s worth of chores before school starts. His father, David, thinks the discipline has a lot to do with his kids’ football success. “That’s how he’s been brought up. Discipline. Obedience should be involved in this house and I am expecting our children to obey us,” Fanene tells Pelley
Jonathan Fanene built his family a palatial home in Samoa with the seven-figure salary his NFL career affords him.
Perhaps the most famous Samoan in the NFL, Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu – born in the U.S. to Samoan parents – says the island is lucky to have the option of football. Beyond a career in the NFL, Samoans have little opportunity beyond the military or work in a tuna canning industry based there that is threatening to pull out soon. “The beautiful thing about football is it’s allowed us to get into education,” says Polamalu. “Football is something that comes naturally to us,” he tells Pelley.
There are currently more than 30 Samoans in the NFL and another 200-plus playing Division 1 college football. There are just 65,000 people living on the islands. “What if there were 120 million Samoans,” wonders Polamalu. “How many Samoans would there then be in the NFL

 

[Rassie]

Swaziland have the highest number of rugby players per capita on the continent of Africa, with 12.9 out of every 1,000 locals being a registered player. This edges out South Africa who officially have 10.0 players per 1,000 people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union_in_Swaziland