Rugby unions according to www.irb.com of top teams

[formerlyfastwing]

6 out of the last 17 golf majors... Just saying.

not taking sides......but golf.....if they carried their own clubs and ran the course......

 

[lucky number 7]

He said team sports...our boxers aren't the worst either ....well for a brief period bernard Dunne was World champ...then he got rogered didn't he.

 

[JW.]

I wouldn't have mentioned golf either , but this is a pointless 'discussion'.

 

[formerlyfastwing]

I wouldn't have mentioned golf either , but this is a pointless 'discussion'.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

He said team sports...our boxers aren't the worst either ....well for a brief period bernard Dunne was World champ...then he got rogered didn't he.

Ah missed that. Us Irish just don't do stuff as teams on the world stage.

 

[lucky number 7]

No we are quite shocking ...but every once in a while we do get a freak of nature like SOB

 

[profitius]

Theres some childish muppets on this thread.

Total Male Players:

England 2531705
South Africa 614787
France 302023
Ireland 140716
New Zealand 126146
Australia 85283
Italy 61432
Wales 49226
Scotland 36237
Samoa 18761

This should be ignored because it includes things like tag rugby etc and the unions like to include everything so the numbers look better than they are.

Senior Male Players:

England 166762
France 110270
South Africa 109878
Australia 39380
New Zealand 27374
Ireland 25440
Wales 22408
Italy 15848
Scotland 11687
Samoa 7690

These are more accurate and should be used when talking about playing numbers.

Teen Male Players:

England 1545233
South Africa 193411
Ireland 57867
France 50651
New Zealand 39317
Australia 19239
Italy 17220
Scotland 15009
Wales 14500
Samoa 1792

This is a good indication of future strength although its not clear how the unions come up with their numbers. From an Irish point of view it looks good IF those numbers are anyway accurate.

Pre-teen Male Players:

England 819710
South Africa 311498
France 141102
New Zealand 59455
Ireland 57409
Italy 28364
Australia 26664
Wales 12318
Scotland 9541
Samoa 9279

This is another indicator of future strength. Interesting to see Italy ahead of Australia, Wales and Scotland!

 

[calculon]

Theres some childish muppets on this thread.

yes, but it's a site developed by gamers - what do u expect!

This should be ignored because it includes things like tag rugby etc and the unions like to include everything so the numbers look better than they are.

That's probably true, but not ignored - just chop off x amount for tag etc.

These are more accurate and should be used when talking about playing numbers.




This is a good indication of future strength although its not clear how the unions come up with their numbers. From an Irish point of view it looks good IF those numbers are anyway accurate.





This is another indicator of future strength. Interesting to see Italy ahead of Australia, Wales and Scotland!

#Senior players looks slightly close to the way things are now, if you exclude the rift between SH + NH at least .... I'd say (teens/2 + senior) might be a good gist of how to compare things in the next world cup and (pre-teens/2 + teens + senior/2) a good way for the world cup after. They're just little makey-uppy equations I came up with just now lol
It's obviously just speculation though. Also, you have to take into consideration how advanced the youth academies are in each country, standard of club leagues, and lots of other things. I think Ireland do look like the main challenger to the traditional dominance of England and France for the next decade at least, and the signs of that are already here. That should be a good thing, as increased competition in th NH should help to close the gap between NH + SH teams. The rise of teams like the US also can't be ignored, although they should still be a ways off for the moment.

Edit

Here's a rough ballpark guesstimate of the number of potential senior players available to each of the countries listed for RWC 2015:

I used no. of senior players + no. of teen players / 2

England 166762 + 1545233/2 = 939378
South Africa 109878 + 193411/2 = 206583
France 110270 + 50651/2 = 135595
Ireland 25440 + 57867/2 = 54373
Australia 39380 + 19239/2 = 48999
New Zealand 27374 + 39317/2 = 47032
Wales 22408 + 14500/2 = 29658
Italy 15848 + 17220/2 = 24458
Scotland 11687 + 15009/2 = 19191
Samoa 7690 + 1792/2 = 8586

Of course this will probably have no bearing on RWC2015. The Southern hemisphere nations will still probably be seeded 1-3!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

yes, but it's a site developed by gamers - what do u expect!

And the survey says......

This site was going many years before the linkup with HB Studios

 

[calculon]

This site was going many years before the linkup with HB Studios

Oh, did I say gamers, I meant trollllerrrssss

 

[lucky number 7]

Oh, did I say gamers, I meant trollllerrrssss

I don't like you.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

calculon day job:

 

[calculon]

I don't like you.

Don't worry, I'm not into trannies


@TRF_whatver - I see u got one in there - I'm the troller yes, well I did counter troll if that's the same.

 

[lucky number 7]

Don't worry, I'm not into trannies

That's a pity.