ChicagoKid
Academy Player
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2020
- Messages
- 363
- Country Flag
- Club or Nation
This isn't a troll post or anything. Last Saturday's Irish victory got me thinking about what it takes to be a top international rugby team.
1.) First, you need funding. Look at the Pacific Islanders, great, great talent but lacking a financial structure, and hence you get mass amounts of corruption.
2.) Second, you need players. Best coach in the world can't turn an average player into a superstar. And with rugby so physical, you really need 31 top-level international players to compete consistently.
3.) Culture of fan support. Any team in any sport can have fan support when the team is winning. But does the country have a culture of supporting rugby from the bottom up?
I'd have to spend a bunch of time in excel, but when you measure these three critical areas, it's hard not to place England at the very top of the list.
Most of the top rugby nations are lagging in one area or another, but England has the money, culture, and broad player base to consistently be at the top.
My question is, what haven't they been?
1.) First, you need funding. Look at the Pacific Islanders, great, great talent but lacking a financial structure, and hence you get mass amounts of corruption.
2.) Second, you need players. Best coach in the world can't turn an average player into a superstar. And with rugby so physical, you really need 31 top-level international players to compete consistently.
3.) Culture of fan support. Any team in any sport can have fan support when the team is winning. But does the country have a culture of supporting rugby from the bottom up?
I'd have to spend a bunch of time in excel, but when you measure these three critical areas, it's hard not to place England at the very top of the list.
Most of the top rugby nations are lagging in one area or another, but England has the money, culture, and broad player base to consistently be at the top.
My question is, what haven't they been?