Is Italy a true Tier 1 Nation?

[Kiwiwomble]

Argentina numbers are way better. Even better those of Scotland.

Italy is outlining with a very poor performance since its promotion..

....i mean great for Argentina.but also...so what?...is this just an attempt to get people to say Argentina is better than italy?

 

[lagoerson]

....i mean great for Argentina.but also...so what?...is this just an attempt to get people to say Argentina is better than italy?

no i would love italy to be better. sadly it is not.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Does Argentina have areas where rugby is bigger than or at least comparable to soccer? I was always under the impression that pockets of Buenos Aires were rugby strongholds.

I don't think Italy has that at all and rugby is so small on a global scale that even having an area or two accounting for 75 - 100,000 people will be a massive boost.

If you look at the current top 4 in the world, rugby is a bigger sport than soccer in NZ, bigger in a lot of regions in SA, bigger in the capital city in Ireland and bigger in the entire southern region (amd massively so in the 4th largest city) of France.

 

[Rugbyfan564]

Does Argentina have areas where rugby is bigger than or at least comparable to soccer? I was always under the impression that pockets of Buenos Aires were rugby strongholds.

I don't think Italy has that at all and rugby is so small on a global scale that even having an area or two accounting for 75 - 100,000 people will be a massive boost.

If you look at the current top 4 in the world, rugby is a bigger sport than soccer in NZ, bigger in a lot of regions in SA, bigger in the capital city in Ireland and bigger in the entire southern region (amd massively so in the 4th largest city) of France.

Through in Ireland is Rugby bigger than the Gaelic sports in Dublin and across the country?

 

[lagoerson]

Does Argentina have areas where rugby is bigger than or at least comparable to soccer? I was always under the impression that pockets of Buenos Aires were rugby strongholds.

I don't think Italy has that at all and rugby is so small on a global scale that even having an area or two accounting for 75 - 100,000 people will be a massive boost.

If you look at the current top 4 in the world, rugby is a bigger sport than soccer in NZ, bigger in a lot of regions in SA, bigger in the capital city in Ireland and bigger in the entire southern region (amd massively so in the 4th largest city) of France.

Rugby is the second most popular sport in Argentina, despite gap with football is immense obviously. Rugby is strong in buenos aires metro and the northern provinces.

in NZ rugby is the most popular sport

in south africa it's second too after football.

in australia idk sixth? massive loss of interest due to league

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Through in Ireland is Rugby bigger than the Gaelic sports in Dublin and across the country?

Not across the country no. In South Dublin rugby probably edges out Gaelic football although it's close. Many kids would play both and the skills are far more transferable than woth soccer though so there's a benefit in the rivalry.

It's not uncommon that u18 county footballers / hurlers make provincial academies. And in reverse a former Leinster player (name escapes me) recently captained Cuala to the club All Ireland in football.

As a school sport, rugby isn't nearly as far behind gaelic games as it is on a broader scale in the country. Which is a big factor too.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

Does Argentina have areas where rugby is bigger than or at least comparable to soccer?

If by "areas" you have things like a province or a big/medium-sized city in mind, then the answer is a resounding "no". There could be a small town somewhere where that is the case, but i sincerely doubt it.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Italy are not but neither are Scotland and Wales

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

That looks like a dangerous game to play. Me likey!

 

[The Seeker]

They play in six nations and have two functioning pro teams. They are obviously tier 1.

They even have a league running under URC which is highly organized.

Tiers are just a construct anyway.

 

[Flankers' paradise]

The time between france joining the championship and france regularly beating other sides in the championship is much greater than the time since italy joined the championship...they will get there

 

[penaltytry]

Outside the Top8 of always, Argentina have had a lot of good results, including 3 times a Top4 in World Cup.

Italy has nothing of it and it seems unlikely can achieve it in short and mid term.

 

[Derpus]

I reckon we scrap the whole tier concept...

 

[Kiwiwomble]

is he tier "system" even a "system"?...its not official is it?

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

is he tier "system" even a "system"?...its not official is it?

I dont know. As far as i understood WR refrains from using the phrase/term. BUT (if you didnt expect a but from me at this point, well, that's on you), when i look at the WC qualifiers and who gets automatic qualification, the correlation might not be perfect, but almost. Same with the refs per country/hemisphere in the world cup. The quality argument is ridiculous. Even Fifa manages to place tons of 'third tier' refs during the group rounds at world cups.

I'd be surprised if the resources received by the RU weren't different, too.

 

[Which Tyler]

Isn't automatic qualification purely based on performance at the previous world cup?
It's not a gift, it's a performance related - if you're in the top 3 from your 2023 pool, you have qualified for 2027

 

[Kiwiwomble]

Isn't automatic qualification purely based on performance at the previous world cup?
It's not a gift, it's a performance related - if you're in the top 3 from your 2023 pool, you have qualified for 2027

that was my understanding, QF all auto qualify for the next one or something like that


side point, its one of the things ive always wanted to change, make everyone other than the current champ and host qualify like football does, give some meaning to lots of games that are otherwise "friendlies"

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

Isn't automatic qualification purely based on performance at the previous world cup?
It's not a gift, it's a performance related - if you're in the top 3 from your 2023 pool, you have qualified for 2027

you are, obviously, correct. My bad.

 

[Which Tyler]

that was my understanding, QF all auto qualify for the next one or something like that


side point, its one of the things ive always wanted to change, make everyone other than the current champ and host qualify like football does, give some meaning to lots of games that are otherwise "friendlies"

From memory, it used to be something like only the finalists qualified automatically.
Which meant you had the likes of England playing a competitive match against Netherlands, and requesting that scrums be uncontested because of safety fears.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

From memory, it used to be something like only the finalists qualified automatically.
Which meant you had the likes of England playing a competitive match against Netherlands, and requesting that scrums be uncontested because of safety fears.

when was that, i feel it wouldnt be the case now days,