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<blockquote data-quote="Canadian_Rugger" data-source="post: 977918" data-attributes="member: 12699"><p>For Tier 2:</p><p></p><p>I thought Georgia seriously underperformed. Thankfully, Milton Haig isn't continuing as coach as I think he has taken them as far as they can go. They have a young squad and will be better next cycle, they are still top dogs in the REC so they aren't going anywhere.</p><p></p><p>USA definitely underperformed but I think it is going to take a couple of cycles for MLR to begin to pay dividends. They will continue to get better over the next few years.</p><p></p><p>The Pacific Isles did about as well as I expected. Samoa doing poorly wasn't a surprise as they have been trending downward for a while. Tonga can still give anyone a game when they are on as can Fiji.</p><p></p><p>Biggest impressor as far as Second Tier is concerned has been Uruguay. They have established some real synergy with UAR and also having a contract with MLR. They will continue to get better as will the rest of South America. Brazil is also improving and this will probably be the last RWC we see my own country at unless serious changes happen with the game here.</p><p></p><p>Namibia were Namibia and, I have a strong feeling they would have beat us had the game gone ahead. It's too bad Romania and Spain were DQ'ed due to a player eligibility issue. Both sides would have offered far more than either Canada or Russia.</p><p></p><p>For Tier 1:</p><p></p><p>The Celtic Countries all underperformed but it wasn't unexpected for me. Ireland and Wales are both overrated and don't have the ability to seriously challenge the big 5. They are good but they lack the extra gear that SA, NZ, Eng, Fra and Aus seem to possess. Scotland are going to continue to slide and they are about as good as they are going to get.</p><p></p><p>Argentina also seriously underperformed. The loss to France really took the wind out of their sails. I have been saying this since they centralized but I don't think PlanDAR has been all that great for the Pumas at international level. They have one pro side and no depth to choose from like when they had 80+ players playing in England and France. Without UAR politics surrounding selection and PlanDAR, Argentina is IMO better than all the Celtic Countries.</p><p></p><p>Italy were not that bad, they had a very tough group having to face SA and NZ and they did everything they possibly could to set themselves up. Italy have some good young players and they will get better.</p><p></p><p>Japan are Tier 1, there is no question now. Any argument that they aren't is just old fashioned protectionism. They aren't high level Tier 1 though, better than Italy but around the same level as Scotland.</p><p></p><p>France and England were both unlucky. France will get better, they will probably continue to do rather poorly in the Six Nations just due to the nature of the Top 14 and the LNR/FFR relationship but will show up stronger next RWC. England are on par with NZ and SA and any match between the three is pretty hard to predict the outcome.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Canadian_Rugger, post: 977918, member: 12699"] For Tier 2: I thought Georgia seriously underperformed. Thankfully, Milton Haig isn't continuing as coach as I think he has taken them as far as they can go. They have a young squad and will be better next cycle, they are still top dogs in the REC so they aren't going anywhere. USA definitely underperformed but I think it is going to take a couple of cycles for MLR to begin to pay dividends. They will continue to get better over the next few years. The Pacific Isles did about as well as I expected. Samoa doing poorly wasn't a surprise as they have been trending downward for a while. Tonga can still give anyone a game when they are on as can Fiji. Biggest impressor as far as Second Tier is concerned has been Uruguay. They have established some real synergy with UAR and also having a contract with MLR. They will continue to get better as will the rest of South America. Brazil is also improving and this will probably be the last RWC we see my own country at unless serious changes happen with the game here. Namibia were Namibia and, I have a strong feeling they would have beat us had the game gone ahead. It's too bad Romania and Spain were DQ'ed due to a player eligibility issue. Both sides would have offered far more than either Canada or Russia. For Tier 1: The Celtic Countries all underperformed but it wasn't unexpected for me. Ireland and Wales are both overrated and don't have the ability to seriously challenge the big 5. They are good but they lack the extra gear that SA, NZ, Eng, Fra and Aus seem to possess. Scotland are going to continue to slide and they are about as good as they are going to get. Argentina also seriously underperformed. The loss to France really took the wind out of their sails. I have been saying this since they centralized but I don't think PlanDAR has been all that great for the Pumas at international level. They have one pro side and no depth to choose from like when they had 80+ players playing in England and France. Without UAR politics surrounding selection and PlanDAR, Argentina is IMO better than all the Celtic Countries. Italy were not that bad, they had a very tough group having to face SA and NZ and they did everything they possibly could to set themselves up. Italy have some good young players and they will get better. Japan are Tier 1, there is no question now. Any argument that they aren't is just old fashioned protectionism. They aren't high level Tier 1 though, better than Italy but around the same level as Scotland. France and England were both unlucky. France will get better, they will probably continue to do rather poorly in the Six Nations just due to the nature of the Top 14 and the LNR/FFR relationship but will show up stronger next RWC. England are on par with NZ and SA and any match between the three is pretty hard to predict the outcome. [/QUOTE]
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