2015 Rugby World Cup: Power Ranking Teams After Autumn Internationals
The final salvos between north and south have been fired ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Between now and then we'll see a Six Nations sort-out and a truncated Rugby Championship—but as a marker of where they stand right now, the autumn internationals gave things an intriguing shake-up
New Zealand retained their status, but behind them there were some movers. Strong form and good results accounted for some sides' rise up the rankings, while the reverse sent others down the pecking order.
Let's see where they stand.
1. New Zealand
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We learned nothing new about New Zealand on their end-of-season tour.
It was more a case of confirmation that no one else has their talent, their depth or their steadfast refusal to give a game up.
The All Blacks might have been a little leg-weary after a long campaign but left themselves enough in the tank to overcome England, Scotland and Wales. If anything, this tour allowed them to examine their options in certain areas.
The New Zealand Herald's Gregor Paul wrote:
"The All Blacks have done what many other sides would consider impossible and ended up with four test quality No 10s. That's selling them a bit short - they have got the best one the world has known, another who is definitely world class, a third who is on the cusp of being there and a fourth who would walk into pretty much any other test side.
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They have never won the World Cup on foreign soil, but this squad is good enough to do it.
2. Ireland
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Ireland recorded a perfect autumn.
They beat South Africa without a number of first-choice players, their reserves wasted Georgia and they found the composure and spirit to deny Australia (having made slightly heavy weather of the midsection of the game).
Jonny Sexton looks the best kicking fly-half in world rugby, Paul O’Connell is playing out of his skin and Rob Kearney was virtually unplayable when chasing his own aerial bombs.
The Six Nations is a chance to keep this momentum going, and they may start as favourites.
The Irish Independent's Declan Whooley highlighted the scale of their autumn achievement given the names missing from the team sheet:
"Never before has an Ireland team looked so healthy in terms of options. Prior to the series, the retirement of Brian O'Driscoll and fitness concerns over Mike Ross posed serious questions in the public domain.
Added to this injuries to Six Nations heroes Cian Healy, Sean O'Brien, Dave Kearney, Andrew Trimble and Iain Henderson, then there were enough legitimate grounds to suggest that one scalp would be as much as the hosts could muster in November.
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3. South Africa
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The Springboks looked a different animal to the one that trampled the All Blacks back home. Their status as No. 2 side in the world looks a little shaky after two defeats on this trip (considering the World Cup will be back here in a year's time).
They were outplayed by Ireland despite having the better scrum and maul. Uncharacteristic errors in handling let them down.
They rectified that against England and looked impressive.
In Cardiff, they faced a desperate Welsh team and found themselves matched—if not bettered—in the physicality stakes.
A hard tour may well see them better for it this time next year.
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4. England
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The gloom and doom about England’s lack of creativity is pointless. They must rely on their strengths, for it is those qualities that will lead to more tries.
A monstrous forward pack will supply plenty of ball, and it seems they have now decided George Ford is the man at No. 10 best placed to use it.
If that means giving it to any one of Manu Tuilagi, Brad Barritt, Luther Burrell or (whisper it) Sam Burgess to punch gaping holes in opposition defences, then so be it.
Why try to be fancier than that when that, as a tactic, could work so well?
Dean Ryan in the Guardian said as much:
"First the good news. England have remembered how to play. The better news will be if they understand what they’ve got and what they are. Bin flashy notions of being the All Blacks. England are England and that is where they should stay to get a sniff of winning their own World Cup next autumn.
There have been times – selectorially especially – this autumn when England have been all over the shop. However, on Saturday they got it right, recognising that a pack which won a penalty try against New Zealand and twice pushed the Springboks back over their line is quite a weapon. And it’s likely to get better.
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5. Wales
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Wales threw their first game away with a daft interception against Australia and only caved in to New Zealand in the final 10 minutes.
It was impressive that they picked themselves up to go toe-to-toe with the hugely physical South Africans and beat them at the end of a tough programme.
They will carry confidence into the Six Nations, and a win over England will strike a blow ahead of their World Cup meeting—but it will not carry that much weight by being in Cardiff.
Wales have a more settled selectorial policy than England, but they lack the power of England's pack.
6. Australia
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New coach, same problems for Australia.
Their scrum is simply not good enough, while their backs can cut anyone to ribbons.
They lost to France, England and Ireland. A win over Wales in a curious sort of contest was their only "W" on the ledger if you don’t count the Barbarians (which you shouldn’t).
With Wales and England in their World Cup group, losing to three of Europe’s big guns in the part of the world where the tournament is to be played would signal panic stations for some teams.
But seeing as crisis mode has been the status quo for Australian rugby for the last few months, they don’t seem overly concerned.
7. Scotland
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An entertaining win over Argentina was followed by valiant defeat to the All Blacks and a decent victory against Tonga.
Under Vern Cotter, Scotland look to be getting their house in order. Scotland—in years gone by—have struggled to beat both Argentina and Tonga.
Finn Russell has carried his form for Glasgow into the Scottish No. 10 shirt, Tommy Seymour looks a handful on the wing and the Gray brothers are a dynamic combination at second row.
They could surprise a few people in the Six Nations.
8. Argentina
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The Pumas, high off the back of their watershed win over Australia in the Rugby Championship, would have fancied the job against Scotland.
They fell short in a high-scoring game but then edged past Italy and France on consecutive weekends to make it a thoroughly decent autumn campaign.
Beating Australia and France in relatively quick succession is encouraging for a side that looks like it has regained its identity and has a nucleus of players close to rivaling the class of 2007.
Agustin Creevy, Nicolas Sanchez, Joaquin Tuculet and Manuel Montero all look capable of great things, while the old head of Juan Martin Hernandez is happily pulling the strings at No. 12.
Add the back row clout of Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Manuel Leguizamon, and the Pumas look a dangerous outfit.
9. France
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Dire in the Six Nations, redeemed in the autumn? Not quite.
Victory over Fiji was emphatic but expected. Beating Australia was encouraging, but losing to Argentina nullified any progress France appeared to be making.
The introduction of Teddy Thomas gave them some added pizzazz, but his defence clearly needs a lot of work.
France still seem to be struggling for any sort of consistency and, while they may pull one or two rabbits from the hat come the Six Nations, they seem far from capable of putting a campaign together to threaten Ireland, Wales or England.
10. Italy
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The defeat of Samoa was followed by losses to the Pumas and South Africa, which indicates little by way of progress for the Azzurri.
Italy have had an appalling 2014, and the signs don't look good for the World Cup.
One or two more players like Sergio Parisse wouldn't go amiss.
11. Samoa
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A rugby nation in turmoil could have done with a decent scalp this autumn. But Samoa sandwiched a win over Canada between defeats to Italy and England.
They retain the ability to smash people into next week, but set pieces are a big issue—meaning their talented backs seldom see enough ball to do damage.
Samoa's problems on the field pale in comparison to those off it, with players talking of a dispute with their union over pay and threats to boycott fixtures contributing to a terrible mess, as reported in the Otago Daily Times:
"The tension has been building since the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and with an All Blacks test in Samoa, the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and the Olympics on the horizon, the stakes are even higher.
Like many arguments, both sides feel they're justified in their actions and responses.
In a letter to the IRB, players from the Manu Samoa team apparently raised concerns about the lack of financial transparency, differences in expectations with regards to what players have to pay for, coaches being denied free rein on selection and the squad announcement being placed on social media websites before players were notified.
Considering the professional rugby environment many of these players now play in, it is no surprise that their expectations are different from those of the financially struggling and predominantly amateur rugby union.
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12. Fiji
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Fiji were well-beaten in Marseille by France, but they rallied to run Wales close in Cardiff (despite seeing a man sent off).
They rounded their campaign off with a win over the USA, but they will need to hit the ground running next year in a group containing England, Wales and Australia.
They do not lack players plying their trade in top tournaments, but it's game time together that they desperately need.
The Guardian's Paul Rees wrote ahead of the autumn:
"Six of Fiji’s backs are based in Europe, in the Pro 12, the Premiership or the Top 14, while the 19st 5lb centre Nemani Nadolo plays for the Crusaders in the Super 15. The back row are all with top French clubs, Qera having moved to Montpellier from Gloucester where he was a favourite of the Shed, and McKee has most of his players available this month with the World Cup the lure rather than the £80 daily allowance they receive on national duty.
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