Juicy weekend of rugby, kick offs in GMT
Friday
Ireland vs New Zealand - 2010
Saturday
England vs Australia - 1510
Italy vs Argentina - 1740
France vs Japan - 2010
Sunday
Wales vs Fiji - 1340
Scotland vs South Africa - 1610
Share your predictions, post some reactions, and bonus question: how many cards this weekend?
Performances like that is why it should have stayed 5 nations and just had promotion - relegation with a tier below. Wales & Italy being guaranteed spots in the Test Championship series for so long is a real shame for any of the other 3rd tier teams vying for their spots.
;)
One thing im finding interesting about the international Rugby at the moment is I think you could say the top tier is probably Ireland, SA, NZ, France and maybe England. Then 2nd tier is very compressed, probably only Argentina, Scotland & Australia before there’s a noticeable drop down to Italy, Fiji, Wales, and then an even more noticeable dip to Georgia, Samoa, Japan. After that you’re getting into the Portgual, Tonga, Uruguay.
Outside of the top 8 where you could see Argentina, Scotland and (maybe) Australia pulling off wins against the top 5, it seems to me that each chunk of teams you drop down really do seem completely unlikely of upsetting even the tier immediately above at the moment. I haven’t quite put my finger on why that might be but im wondering if it comes down to the advantage modern defences have, much better strength & condition plus the best teams having benches where there’s just no dip in quality.
No way are England top tier right now. But I do agree there is a top 4 then a drop off. Scotland has an inability to crack them and that’s the debate about Townsend. As to the why, it’s the depth imo that allows them to defend with such ferocity AND attack. Frequently we see one or the other in players, but the top 4 nations have a player pool where the world class do both. They also have player pathways that are world class that develops these individuals, which pays dividends in the long term
I figured with the 3 very close losses two NZ that if I didn’t say England were in the top tier then there’s a strong argument that NZ aren’t either. And given their placings in the World Cup just a year ago I think its fair even if Borthwick’s record is only 50/50 over a lot of tests now.