Scotland

melkdave says...

I have to say the IRB rankings are spot on atm .Ireland rise because Argentina al;so got hammered and they where at home ,so lost more points because of it .Wales really played below what they can and should do ,and Australia rode their luck and scrapped victorys .If England played Australia now they would win ,just as the ABs and Bokkes will in the RC.Argentina will rise also after the RC and Australia drop a place or 2.Come the aurtum internationals i ecpect the top 3 to be 1st NZ 2nd SA and 3rd England with Australia 4th or 5 th depending on wheather they get hammered by both NZ and SA,and Argentina to be up to 6th after a home win against the wallabies and close games against the bokkes and ABs

Posted 00:08 08th August 2012

APV1 says...

Anyone seen any posts from gazzabok recently? I'd like to know if he's paid up, or whether he's a charity-cheating scumbag...

"gazzabok says...

The English are delusional. That was't a competition once the Boks settled into the game.

Boks will win by 20+ tomorrow. If not, note this comment and I will donate 10 quid to Wooden Spoon.

Posted 13:12 15th June 2012"

I'm going to keep harassing the threads until they pay up. Firstly one shouldn't make such statements if you're not willing to put your money where your mouth is.

Then there's the matter of doing a (very worthwhile) charity out of promised funds. Added to which, another poster and I have agreed to match the £10 pledge once it's been paid, so gazzabok is potentially doing them out of even more, based on a flippant comment.

I have no doubt that gazzabok can afford to spare £10 and I'd like to know that they've paid up.

Ed - can you help track down the elusive gazzabok, as I've not seen any posts from them since their pledge? Thanks!

Posted 10:09 27th June 2012

TheTruthHurts says...

@kinsman & @tha_mai, the dribble you posted is exactly why we have the current and proper ranking system :D

Posted 16:47 26th June 2012

olepete says...

Sandal, regarding Barnes, I think the answer is that, while POB from NZ was heading the selection panel, the dropping of Wayne would be construed as a payback for 2007. We now have a new panel whose first action was to revise the list of international refs, thankfully in line with performance.

Posted 13:28 26th June 2012

kinsman says...

@Tha Mai

That one may need a little expanding. I realise the current IRB rankings do cause some argument but think most people who take the time to read how they work, realise they are not a bad system.

If we take the actual percentage win ratios for matches played over the last 10 years, not many of your expected teams remain top...

84.76 New Zealand

75.00 Iran

73.21 Morocco

72.00 Burkina Faso

71.59 Lithuania

71.42 Armenia

70.45 Niger

68.75 Philippines

68.42 Mauritius

66.66 Cayman Islands

65.38 Bermuda

64.58 Belgium

64.28 Reunion

64.13 Argentina

63.63 Brazil

63.63 Guyana

63.00 France

62.69 South Africa

61.53 Israel

61.53 Niue Island

61.34 Ireland

60.90 Australia

60.52 Switzerland

60.41 Kenya

60.00 Moldova

(All international games played between 23 June 2002 and 23 June 2012 with a minimum of 10 games played)

Posted 12:34 26th June 2012

APV1 says...

@ pierredelot1 - actually it's of great consequence. These rankings dictate who is in the RWC pool come 2015, so they make a massive difference.

England go up because we drew and Wales lost, so lose points.

Wales won the 6N (and deserved to do so), but we came second. So it's no surprise that they're vying for the same place. France are always a good team and beat Argentina, so will go up.

I think the rankings are there or there-abouts, with the brackets being right:

Top 3 (until the Autumn...)

4 - 6 (and then the 6N...)

7 - 9 (although I'd love to see Samoa take on Scotland...)

@ jamesliveinhope - Hear! Hear!

Posted 11:26 26th June 2012

Waz4before says...

The top 3 are right, the teams in 4, 5, 6 and 7 could each beat each other on any given day. The rankings are telling us what we already know - the best 3 sides in the world are in the SH and there's not much between the next 4 "best" sides. Interestingly now the autumn tests take on even more significance, Wales will have to beat one of their 2 SH opponents or miss out on a top seed at RWC - my bet is they won't do enough but France will ..

Posted 10:52 26th June 2012

jamesliveinhope says...

The standings aren't kind to England.

The IRB rankings work on a ladder system, you can only take points off the team you play against and those points will only carry value if they are earned against teams higher in the ranking than you.

Wales, for all their RWC heroics have only beaten 6N opposition in the last couple of years. England have beaten Australia twice (once in Australia) and held South Africa (in South Africa). If Wales want to capture and hold onto 4th, they need a really good Autumn and hope that England/South Africa/France don't.

Alternatively, heaven forfend, wouldn't it be nice to have 2 of the home nations in the top 4 come RWC seeding cut off. Can't help feeling that SA and Aus are there for the taking come November for both sides.

Posted 08:51 26th June 2012

sandal says...

@olepete

You say: "" I don't think Barnes is on the international panel any longer"".

(You read that far? I re-read my post and thought, y-a-w-n. Sorry about that.)

Anyway! Barnes is out? Oh happy day! Kahloo kahlay! Frabjous, glorious day!

But why did the IRB take five years to admit their mistake? That is the most astonishing instance of pigheaded, perverse, cussed denial. Five long years of it.

Posted 08:21 26th June 2012

olepete says...

Sandal, I don't think Barnes is on the international panel any longer

Posted 07:03 26th June 2012