Rate Tier 1 nations in order

[Leonormous Boozer]

This thread will be better in 6 weeks time, the spots between 2-7 are very inconsistent.

 

[iINDOMINUSxx]

The English forwards will run right over the Wallabies in the Pool A. Wales will finish them off. Wallabies won't make it past the Pool stages.

im not sure if wales would finish them off tbh, the aussies might just edge it against wales

 

[j'nuh]

The English forwards will run right over the Wallabies in the Pool A. Wales will finish them off. Wallabies won't make it past the Pool stages.

Nothing would make me happier.

This thread will be better in 6 weeks time, the spots between 2-7 are very inconsistent.

With NZ in first place and SA just slightly ahead of the rest, I see it as being tight between Aus, England, Ireland and Wales. Who is the seventh team?

 

[David Smith]

im not sure if wales would finish them off tbh, the aussies might just edge it against wales

Jesus Christ, Watch the wallabies go undefeated this tour. Just watch

 

[Tony Manx]

Jesus Christ, Watch the wallabies go undefeated this tour. Just watch

Without Beale..................is that really possible!!!!!!

 

[iINDOMINUSxx]

Jesus Christ, Watch the wallabies go undefeated this tour. Just watch

what is your problem anyway ? i didn't say the wallabies wont beat wales, i said they'll edge it, most off australia's good players play abroad anyway.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Nothing would make me happier.


With NZ in first place and SA just slightly ahead of the rest, I see it as being tight between Aus, England, Ireland and Wales. Who is the seventh team?

As an Irishman, I'm always afraid of France.

 

[Big Ewis]

With NZ in first place and SA just slightly ahead of the rest, I see it as being tight between Aus, England, Ireland and Wales. Who is the seventh team?

lovely to see yet someone else completely underrate Argentina. But what else is new I suppose, after all...

So how exactly do you qualify to be a tier one nation? Samoa beat Italy this year and Samoa have beaten Australia in this decade whom Italy haven't beaten so again what criteria are you using? Italy should definitely be tier 2 mann.

dude this thread isn't for this. Everybody in the world who pays a bit of attention understands Samoa being Tier 2 is unfair and Italy Tier 1 also very unfair. But we're just going by official definition of Tier 1, i.e. 6N + 4N. Those 10 nations.
Yes Samoa looked every bit Tier 1, no doubt, during that 2011-mid '13 stretch, and if they could've (still can) held that up longer maybe in time we'd have to reconsider the order of things, but right now that's just how it is, officially.

And I mean just since we're on topic, if this weren't the Top 10 Tier 1 thread, and if it were the Top 10 world nations overall, I'd probably go:

1 Woodywood pecker theme song catch phrase
2 Boks
3 Wallabies
4 England/Ireland tied.
5 England/Ireland
6 Argentina
7 Wales
8 France
9 Samoa
10 Scotland

Italy honestly I don't know right now if I have them above Fiji and Tonga. They conceded 30+ pts to Fiji at home and only beat them because Fiji got like 10 yellows, and then they lost in Fiji during the summer...it's greatly annoying for me, but right now I think Italy is about the same...

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Maybe, Big Ewis. Just, as a South African I am just more scared of France than the rest of Europe. Look at the last 5 years ' results against SA specifically which is of course what I would look at personally. Objectively, sure, drop Francetwo pplaces.

 

[Big Ewis]

peter stormare 2001, you and many others on this forum and in the world who follow Rugby and aren't French need to understand something:
France "may still be France" in that they still have enormous depth and tons of quality players throughout and the Rugby culture is still there and all things in that direction...but the ability for France to be great is out of the equation as long as we have this coaching staff. The only asterisk I'll keep here, for security, is because of changes in the roster and in the staff/direction, a bit of a turnaround is still possible from now, into 2015.
But this thread focuses on the ranking of the Tier 1 nations right now, and so must take the past 8-12 months into account only.

Trust me, making all those 2000's French mixes (French Flair and Scrums) I've been dealing with our past prowess extensively recently. But although France had its flaws and drops of form intermittently, on the whole they were indeed really good, and were capable of near miracles, if not downright miracles. We don't have this anymore. That component has left us. There haven't been, and there won't be any surprises. We *can* beat England, Wales, Ireland, Australia, maybe S.A. or even the AB on a good day (our last 4 tests were okay against the Blacks) but it'll just be through a fine, focused 80min effort. It won't be anything "magical" like before.
There is no fear to be had from France right now. All our strong cultural points are dead now - the attacking flair, even the scrum. We're just NOT FRANCE with Saint-André.

 

[Groundhog]

Jesus Christ, Watch the wallabies go undefeated this tour. Just watch

Jesus Christ, I bet they won't though.

 

[j'nuh]

lovely to see yet someone else completely underrate Argentina. But what else is new I suppose, after all...

I think you overstate Argentina.

 

[Big Ewis]

Jesus Christ, Watch the wallabies go undefeated this tour. Just watch

well technically they've already failed at doing that if you count Bled 3 (like Wiki)
And they might fail again as soon as against the Baabaas after that !
But no way do they get a Grand Slam, especially not with a fresh new coach...Wales, Ireland, France, England...not gon happen son.

I think you overstate Argentina.

well I think you underra..!...oh wait, already said that..

 

[LittleGuy]

So how exactly do you qualify to be a tier one nation? Samoa beat Italy this year and Samoa have beaten Australia in this decade whom Italy haven't beaten so again what criteria are you using? Italy should definitely be tier 2 mann.

No participation in one of the two major yearly competitions and no domestic professional teams. One off results have no bearing on that, otherwise Canada could have been considered Tier One in the mid to late 1990's but we never were.

 

[FrenchFan]

Maybe, Big Ewis. Just, as a South African I am just more scared of France than the rest of Europe. Look at the last 5 years ' results against SA specifically which is of course what I would look at personally. Objectively, sure, drop Francetwo pplaces.

At the moment there's just really nothing to be scared of.

The only scary thing is this has been allowed to go on for 3 years unchanged and will continue so all the way to the WC.

That's what's scary. But that's what you get with FFR, they have an ability to destroy everything that comes within their reach.

If you're looking for real scrummaging and flair, you will find it in Top 14.

 

[Jaguares]

Wallabies > England

i hated to say it tbh, but look at the aussies at the rugby championship they only won 2/6 games,and england have a very strong team and looking to have a really strong team in 2015 so its nothing to be ashamed off

Wallabies defeated South Africa. When was the last time England beat to the Saffers? Also, they obtained a draw against ABs and put them against the wall in Brisbane

The English forwards will run right over the Wallabies in the Pool A. Wales will finish them off. Wallabies won't make it past the Pool stages.

Wallabies won 2 World Cups in Europe and NZ never won a WC abroad

Watch out!

 

[Flyingdolphins]

That's a good piece of history there for the Wallabies.

 

[Jaguares]

That's a good piece of history there for the Wallabies.

And what about the last Bledisloe match?

 

[Big Ewis]

yes I've got the Wallabies ahead of England for sure, I reiterate. Here's why, hear me out:
Wallabies tied with (and really, really should've won against) the AB's, beat the Boks, and just recently (again) should've beaten the mighty All-Blacks in Bled 3, and at least put almost 30 past them losing by a single unit on the scoreboard. Before that they dismantled a French team that, granted, was putrid in all its glory, couldn't have asked for more rancidness and foulness, just, whewww damn, I mean them guys weren't kiddin !! - but think about it this way that same France never would have that much trouble against England. England isn't puttin 50 and then 40 past France in 3 weeks' time. And before that, Aussies beat everybody in Europe almost. England can't go on a Cardiff+Rome+Dublin tour and beat everybody convincingly like that.

 

[Bean]

Wallabies won't win if they can't play for 80mins.

To say they beat the AB's in the third Bledisloe is one thing, but you have to consider how often will NZ going to perform like that? It's not like the Wallabies out performed a quality NZ performance. And the Wallabies still couldn't beat them!