Collective quality is lacking in international rugby in 2020

While Argentina and Australia have been torrid, New Zealand hold a 50% win record for the first time in years, England are treating controversially beating a French C team as a World Cup Final and the general state of northern hemisphere rugby appears dire at best. Some perspective on the state of World Rugby please writes James Dalton.

New Zealand finish the year with the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations in hand, but with the other achievements of having lost to Argentina for the first time in history, drawn to Australia and lost to them too, and ended the year on a 50% win ratio, having won three, lost two and drawn one. The All Blacks under Ian Foster are not the All Blacks of the last decade, this much is evident. As I said previously, the metric for success was All Black, yet they no longer set the standard.

Who does then?

Certainly not England, who emerged Six Nations victors against a northern hemisphere collective whose quality has declined, and robbed France of an Autumn Nations Cup win in extra time.

While France appears the one team in World Rugby at the moment to be building something of quality and consistency, under Fabian Galthie, England’s historic competition of Wales and Ireland have fallen drastically from where they were. Ireland, who hit Number 1 in the World not too long ago have dropped to fifth in the World Rankings, while Wales without Gatland are a shell of the side that proved to be the Springboks’ greatest challenge in their road to World Cup victory in 2019.

The Autumn Nations Cup final did even more to expose the quality (or lack thereof?) of an England side that has essentially been clubbing seals this year. With 813 caps among the England players (their most experienced side of all time), it took a try that should not have been a try (England clearly knocking the ball on en route to the try line) and an extra time penalty to win in sudden death against a French side with 68 caps in total between their players. “We wouldn’t have won that game 12 months ago, we’d have lost it. That’s a good learning for us.” said Eddie Jones in speaking of the fight that England showed to come back and win 22-19. But what does that say about the state of English rugby, if your progression a year on from getting thumped 32-12 in a World Cup final is stealing a victory from a French team without 25 of their best players?

England, by nature of their results, are considered the best team in the world this year that has played rugby (the Springboks still maintain the number 1 spot in the rankings), and sitting at third just behind them is an All Black side that has been beaten by and drawn to a no name brand, young Australian side under new coaching and lost for the first time ever to Argentina, who drew twice to that same Australian side!

2020, as bizarre a year as it has been, has not seen an emergence of any side that can lay claim to being world beaters, and the Springboks in 2021 are perfectly positioned to defend their title as such and beat the British & Irish Lions.