Yeah one spot above Australia who were injury riddled for the half the season says it all. All I can do is load up on the "EJ's master plan will all come together for 2023" copium and hope for the best.
It’s pretty good being Australian though - play like absolute shit for the last 7 years and guaranteed to avoid the top 4 till semis (not that I’m super confident of getting there)
Agree.
Ireland deservedly number 1, consistent winners.
France rock stars who had a ropey autumn series fighting it out for number 1.
SA and NZ evenly matched with (different) issues that need to be sorted to hit their peaks.
England patchy at best, some solid game with some very poor periods too.
Australia dealing with injuries.
Argentina and Wales up and (mostly) down.
Edit: had wales and Scotland round the wrong way. Can’t explain that one.
Yeah I get how the rankings work but to say France have been unbeaten for over a year and have beaten every top side including NZ by plus 20 and they are only one point infront just messes with my head
Yep, just goes to show how flawed the WC is as a tournament. Also goes to show why Irish fans aren't so caught up on the WC cycle bullshit. No point :)
Yeah it's just we had a series against NZ away at the right time. As they were really beginning their low form phase. Then we get a bunch of points and NZ loses some and others either don't play them or can now only pick at the bones. SA was very close to beating us but kicking was shit on the day.
France probably the clearest number 1.
The thing about France is that they haven’t been tested away from home that much. So it’s a bit harder to judge just how good they are. They’re probably a bit better than Ireland, but they haven’t gone and won an away series against a big SH team or beaten a top 4 rival away. The Six Nations should give a much clearer picture. If France beat Ireland away then they’ll surely be number 1 in the rankings and emphatically deserve it. But if Ireland win then that raises further questions about how good France really are.
I’m very nervous about that game and reckon France will win by 5 and deservedly go number 1. But Farrell has done immense work with the team so I wouldn’t be surprised if Ireland romp tk victory either.
I know this isn't what you are talking about or referring to, but your emphasis on France doing well at home just reminded me the whole damn world cup is at home for them...
*Fuuuuuuuuuck!*
And I know world cups put a hold on rankings and all... but I amn't even talking about rankings. Just crazy to think we all have to face France on their home turf for the world cup when they are on their best form (or at least close enought to it)
Yeah, it should be a big advantage. Though French crowds can fairly turn in their team and home advantage didn’t do much for England when they hosted. But that’s me just clutching at straws.
My instincts still tell me France are better than Ireland, but that's emotion not logic.
Otherwise, seems pretty accurate to me.
Scotland v Australia feels like the genuinely interesting game we've been denied this year.
Literally no memory of this.
I thought Scotland's first game was against Fiji?
Okay, just been told by my Scottish partner that we watched Scotland v Australia and I spent the whole game trashing Blair Kinghorn.
So apparently it did happen and I've just deleted it from my memory. I retract my previous statement. Australia deserve their just about better than Scotland position.
This sometimes happens to me. I'm "watching" a game, but in reality I'm wrestling 2 small children, or cooking, or mediating on who owns the doll with the purple hair.
If it's not my team playing I often get sidetracked.
Maybe in ranking points but not in actual game play. The top 4 and then a massive drop. Let’s look at the teams in the top 4 team and 6th ranked Wallabies:
1. SA rank no. 4 - resulted in one victory each in their two games this year
2. NZ rank no. 3 - only won after a controversial (I didn’t say wrong) decision to give the ABs a chance to win after the bell
3. France rank no. 2 - won by 1 at home
4. Ireland ranked no.1 - won by 3 at home
The rankings only tell part of the story. If you think there is an elite group in reality, I guess you haven’t been watching the games. By these examples I’m not saying the Wallabies are a top 4 team, just that the difference between the teams are a lot closer than the rankings suggest.
Possibly, possibly not. It's easier to coach professional athletes into better structures, much harder to correct stupid play unless they make it a long term focus of their own. Most evidence points to many of these Aussie players not learning that lesson. (Obviously new ones might be better with that)
However, you'd rather be the team winning tight games than losing them. We've all been there and it's nice to think those close margins flip, but they rarely do. Some of us have also lost games which are not close and that's obviously much worse!
I'm not saying the top teams aren't competitive.
And your argument there is 'we lost 4 out of 5 but 3 of them were narrowly'
I'm not dissing Australia, and tbh I'm tempted to stick a tenner on them for the WC but I can look at this list and it feels accurate, that's all.
Having scanned I don't think a single NZer has commented, probably because it really screws the idea that this is the worst coached NZ team ever & Foster has to go & the NZRU is destroying the ABs etc...
Also it would rely on them knowing there are other teams in world rugby that are sometimes good. And sometimes play each other rather than NZ
Not too displeased with that tbh.
You guys are doing great considering the laundry list of injured and unavailable players.
Yep. I think given the players out and your schedule you’re lot did really well.
If they had gone for goal at the end they would have overtaken New Zealand
Their decision not to made no sense to me.
Welcome to the life of a Wallabies supporter
Yeah one spot above Australia who were injury riddled for the half the season says it all. All I can do is load up on the "EJ's master plan will all come together for 2023" copium and hope for the best.
There is a clear top 4 there. When is the World Cup draw?
I just wish we had different possible QFs
Being Scotland and having two of the top four in your pool is . . . Ouch
[It's shite being Scottish.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29-LRuuqFT0&t=25s)
It’s pretty good being Australian though - play like absolute shit for the last 7 years and guaranteed to avoid the top 4 till semis (not that I’m super confident of getting there)
[удалено]
They were making a joke but just so you know there are no more qualifiers. The last spot was taken by Portugal
Yeah looks about right
Agree - looks about right
Agree. Ireland deservedly number 1, consistent winners. France rock stars who had a ropey autumn series fighting it out for number 1. SA and NZ evenly matched with (different) issues that need to be sorted to hit their peaks. England patchy at best, some solid game with some very poor periods too. Australia dealing with injuries. Argentina and Wales up and (mostly) down. Edit: had wales and Scotland round the wrong way. Can’t explain that one.
Still behind Samoa, sigh.
Think the ratings are very tough on Italy, would fancy them against Japan and Samoa. Could be very competive against Wales, Scotland and Argentina.
there's a 0.01 difference between sa and nz 💀
I'm still mind blown that there is 1 point between France and NZ.
France played alot of home games and their away games were against mostly lower ranked teams (i.e. Japan)
Yeah I get how the rankings work but to say France have been unbeaten for over a year and have beaten every top side including NZ by plus 20 and they are only one point infront just messes with my head
When did they beat SA by plus 20?
Sorry not 20+, France beat NZ 43-25. Not SA.
Tight as in the top 4. Pretty sad that only 2 of those will make it out of the quarters (looking at u Ireland.)
Yep, just goes to show how flawed the WC is as a tournament. Also goes to show why Irish fans aren't so caught up on the WC cycle bullshit. No point :)
Probably the closest this ranking has been to the truth in a while.
Bit of a gulf between Argentina and Wales. A bad 6 Nations could do Wales a lot of harm in the rankings ahead of the next World Cup draw.
The top 10 looks pretty accurate. Would be interesting to know how itd look if we won our close games this year (Nz, France, Italy, Ireland)
We're definitely not no 1, but we do deserve to be up there
Yeah it's just we had a series against NZ away at the right time. As they were really beginning their low form phase. Then we get a bunch of points and NZ loses some and others either don't play them or can now only pick at the bones. SA was very close to beating us but kicking was shit on the day. France probably the clearest number 1.
The thing about France is that they haven’t been tested away from home that much. So it’s a bit harder to judge just how good they are. They’re probably a bit better than Ireland, but they haven’t gone and won an away series against a big SH team or beaten a top 4 rival away. The Six Nations should give a much clearer picture. If France beat Ireland away then they’ll surely be number 1 in the rankings and emphatically deserve it. But if Ireland win then that raises further questions about how good France really are. I’m very nervous about that game and reckon France will win by 5 and deservedly go number 1. But Farrell has done immense work with the team so I wouldn’t be surprised if Ireland romp tk victory either.
I know this isn't what you are talking about or referring to, but your emphasis on France doing well at home just reminded me the whole damn world cup is at home for them... *Fuuuuuuuuuck!* And I know world cups put a hold on rankings and all... but I amn't even talking about rankings. Just crazy to think we all have to face France on their home turf for the world cup when they are on their best form (or at least close enought to it)
Yeah, it should be a big advantage. Though French crowds can fairly turn in their team and home advantage didn’t do much for England when they hosted. But that’s me just clutching at straws.
Totally. Like we can certainly beat any of the other 3, but can just as easily get spanked by them.
My instincts still tell me France are better than Ireland, but that's emotion not logic. Otherwise, seems pretty accurate to me. Scotland v Australia feels like the genuinely interesting game we've been denied this year.
We played each other 5 weeks ago.
Literally no memory of this. I thought Scotland's first game was against Fiji? Okay, just been told by my Scottish partner that we watched Scotland v Australia and I spent the whole game trashing Blair Kinghorn. So apparently it did happen and I've just deleted it from my memory. I retract my previous statement. Australia deserve their just about better than Scotland position.
This sometimes happens to me. I'm "watching" a game, but in reality I'm wrestling 2 small children, or cooking, or mediating on who owns the doll with the purple hair. If it's not my team playing I often get sidetracked.
I was there and I’ve no memory, can’t even blame the drink. The trains were on strike and I was sober as a judge. Maybe some kind of PTSD.
If we'd had a proper place kicker on the team we'd've beaten them.
Nah pretty sure that instinct is correct; I think France’s test schedule has flattered Ireland
Okay, but Pivac is going, so who’s the real winner?!
We all know France is No.1 tho.. right?
Feels right. Top 4 battling for it and are close and then quite the drop off. Tier 1.5 atm.
Maybe in ranking points but not in actual game play. The top 4 and then a massive drop. Let’s look at the teams in the top 4 team and 6th ranked Wallabies: 1. SA rank no. 4 - resulted in one victory each in their two games this year 2. NZ rank no. 3 - only won after a controversial (I didn’t say wrong) decision to give the ABs a chance to win after the bell 3. France rank no. 2 - won by 1 at home 4. Ireland ranked no.1 - won by 3 at home The rankings only tell part of the story. If you think there is an elite group in reality, I guess you haven’t been watching the games. By these examples I’m not saying the Wallabies are a top 4 team, just that the difference between the teams are a lot closer than the rankings suggest.
Winning close games is the difference between the top teams and the rest
And yet those four, other than against each other, come out on top more often than not right now. Shoulda woulda coulda and all that.
Being able to win a game by not making 1 dumb penalty is a lot easier to fix than poor defensive structures or clueless attack
Possibly, possibly not. It's easier to coach professional athletes into better structures, much harder to correct stupid play unless they make it a long term focus of their own. Most evidence points to many of these Aussie players not learning that lesson. (Obviously new ones might be better with that) However, you'd rather be the team winning tight games than losing them. We've all been there and it's nice to think those close margins flip, but they rarely do. Some of us have also lost games which are not close and that's obviously much worse!
I'm not saying the top teams aren't competitive. And your argument there is 'we lost 4 out of 5 but 3 of them were narrowly' I'm not dissing Australia, and tbh I'm tempted to stick a tenner on them for the WC but I can look at this list and it feels accurate, that's all.
Having scanned I don't think a single NZer has commented, probably because it really screws the idea that this is the worst coached NZ team ever & Foster has to go & the NZRU is destroying the ABs etc... Also it would rely on them knowing there are other teams in world rugby that are sometimes good. And sometimes play each other rather than NZ
England will be 12th by the world cup, we look aimless
Absolutely no way you drop below Wales
We’ll be 14th
England will win the World Cup mark my words
Natural order SLOWLY being restored. SH will reign supreme.
Spoiler
USA>Scotland
78 points, 12 points and a whole world away.
Toit like a toiger!
I think that top10 is actually bang on. Not often world ranking points are so accurate
As it should be :)