As we’ve reached the end of 2017 and 2018 has kicked off the inevitable annual reviews come flooding in – so here’s another one to add to the deluge.
Rather than reviewing a specific team though, let’s take the opportunity to review the ongoing struggle between hemispheres for global domination.
For a long time, it’s felt like the major players of the Southern Hemisphere have claimed the crown. While New Zealand have often led the way, it’s been the trio of the Wallabies, Springboks and All Blacks combined that has put fear into teams from the north for many years. More recently they have been backed up by the powerful Pumas.
The World Cup of 2015 was a strong demonstration of the South’s domination – not a single northern hemisphere side made the semi-finals, not even the host nation of England – the rugby nation with arguably the biggest budgets and most well established infrastructure to grow a successful international team.
Two years on and with half a world cup cycle complete it’s interesting to see whether this has changed. Fortunately the recent international clashes have provided a useful laboratory to run a few Tests and review the latest in the ongoing North versus South struggle.
For this comparison the focus will be on the top six teams from each hemisphere that have been competing. For the North these are England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy. For the South we’ll include Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and South Africa.
During the October tours this is how the results have panned out:
North played 18, won 10 lost 7, draw 1 – win per centage 55 per cent
South played 16, won 7, lost 9 – win percentage 44 per cent
New Zealand, Ireland and England all went through their respective series of three matches unbeaten while France, Samoa and Fiji were all unable to get one victory on the board.
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
So the data shows the North achieved better results, they are the better rugby hemisphere – done and dusted. Let’s get on with the New Year diet that lasts til lunch and the Super Rugby pre season talk.
But of course that’s not the full story is it? Yes the Northern Hemisphere teams have won more games than their Southern rivals in these recent series but they have also had the home advantage.
On the other hand many of the Southern Hemisphere teams have had the benefits of coming off the back of a Rugby Championship to get their rhythm and combinations working smoothly.
Let’s add some more data to the comparison set and see what happens. Looking back at the internationals between these twelve sides since the World Cup we see the following.
June – July 2017 (inc Lions tour of NZ)
Matches played in the Southern Hemisphere
13 played
5 Northern wins (38%)
7 Southern wins (54%)
1 draw
Nov – Dec 2016
Matches played in the Northern Hemisphere
17 played
11 Northern wins (65%)
6 Southern wins (35%)
June – July 2016
Matches played in the Southern Hemisphere
12 played
5 Northern wins (42%)
7 Southern wins (58%)
Totals since January 2016
60 matches played (25 in Southern Hemisphere locations, 35 in the North)
31 Northern wins (52%)
27 Southern wins (45%)
2 draws
Following a World Cup in late 2015 where the Northern teams were notably absent from the business end of the tournament, they seem to have been able to turn things around – two years of rugby and four more wins over their Southern rivals.
During this time the Kiwis only lost twice to a Northern team so the remaining 25 losses came from the rest of the bunch including the traditionally strong Australia and South Africa. There could be several reasons for this change in trend – was this indicative of how the strategies of such teams as the Wallabies, Boks and Pumas had been focused on performing at the World Cup but hadn’t factored in what to do after the tournament?
Was it a sign of scarier problems with the underlying foundations of these nation’s rugby structures that would inevitably come out at the international level eventually?
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
It’s important to note though that while the Northern teams are experiencing a period where they are winning more matches over their Southern rivals, they are only winning four more matches than the South across a two year period despite having ten more games at home.
So it’s fair to say that the North are achieving a good amount of success – they are winning more games against the Southern teams, they have two of the top three teams in the world, and three of the top five.
Of course none of this matters if, come the semi-finals of Japan 2019, the same Southern domination wins through as was seen in 2015. There are many sub plots behind all of these numbers including the debates that are raging on this site about whether Cheika needs to resign now or carry on to Japan.
But the North are getting their houses in order and as well as having talent and depth in their playing groups, seem to have strong coaches and infrastructures to back up those players. That’s the kind of combination that leads to success and trophies.
taylorman
Guest
Why the whininh, bacause a handful of the hundreds are very good. Image the crying in your home if Farrell and Ford both signed for the Crusaders and the Hurricanes, as has happened with Cruden and Sapoaga recently...and our two are better 10's! But no, good ol NH, gotta be greedy and have em all.You have no idea what this is doing to the game at the top, watching foreigners play from your ivory towers.
taylorman
Guest
You seem to have a passion about knowing what we know and dont RF, when you really dont. What we DO know is your lot cant play this game without us, to the tune of many, many huge rugby contracts. You mean go watch the 'mostly non English' Saracens side? Why on earth would I. I saw the highlights reel, and no long range tries. And you dont get to evaluate someones opinion...except for in your own little word that is...the dark place it must be. :-) Oh, and well done Wasps, Sapoagas on his way. No 10's coming through the hives there perhaps? The Queen bee is NOT impressed! :-)
taylorman
Guest
And nor did I bring up the haka despite RF likes to think.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
If you watched the 'highlight reels' all you would have seen is the tries. Go and watch a rerun of the Saracens Wasps game last Sunday. You don't watch the Aviva, you haven't the faintest idea of the nature of the rugby, so your opinion on this issue is worthless.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
Hee Hee, no problem mate, we've all been there.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
Well, Kirky, the baby poms were missing 14 players. 6 of them were selected for the senior trip to Argentina, so I'm not entirely sure that the 2017 Under-20 reveals a particularly weak England crop. They could have had Isiekwe, the Curry twins, Underhill, Smith, Cokanasiga, Maunder, all of whom have been in the full England squad and/or team. Do you think having half a dozen full England internationals and 8 other first choice players might have made a difference to the result?
piru
Roar Rookie
T-man I don't think there's anything more cringeworthy than a haka done self consciously or nervously.
Taylorman
Guest
Can we reword the heading to... 'The north neednt worry, the south are coming fast'?
taylorman
Guest
Fair enough, there's a lot of commentary here that its overdone and it is, and sometimes its done very poorly. It remains an oddity that some still see it is threatening no mater what the actions are. It is first a mark of respect to whomever it is being performed in front of. Sure it used to be a war dance but there are no wars for it in any big way these days. If it was meant to be meant as an affront then why did all the AB's and past rugby greats all perform it in a no holding back tears passionate as Lomu's casket was going past. Sure before a match it has an element of scare and the opposition might see it that way...and perhaps the players bank on that but if the receiver misses altogether the huge mark of respect they are being paid then they lose a bit of the whole deal as a person and player...in my opinion. But I agree, done poorly or inappropriately it can be a bit of a downer on the whole thing.
Derm
Roar Guru
No I don't mean that. The entering of the existing Irish provincial teams into the Celtic League alongside Welsh and Scottish clubs is what I'm talking about. There were players from other countries in these teams even in the amateur days. You may not be aware that the world has changed in regard to the movement of players and why they move. Junior or mid-level players are now editing together highlight You Tube clips of themselves and marketing themselves to coaches and clubs around the world. Clubs receive these player CVs nearly every week. It's already an international market with players actively selling their wares, rather than this anachronistic view that every single one of them is being somehow stealthily poached. The younger ones are not the finished article by any means so they see an opportunity to develop further and be paid/paid more than they are currently.
bluffboy
Guest
Come on fella's, may be you should give Funny Bus a break. Maybe negotiate the acceptance of the Haka for say the acceptance of Morris Dancing. I can see that at Twickers a spirited Haka closely followed by a fierce Morris Dance. Entertainment value, well it just can't be quantified.
piru
Roar Rookie
Richard the Corgiheart doesn't really have the same ring
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
Woodward is already qualified and he hasn't waltzed in yet. Mind you, he was a real standout for Bristol, and has shown some good touches for Gloucester. Still, he has to get past Brown, Watson, Daly and probably Nowell. Outside the squad, there are players like Goode and Pennell There are a lot of players with Southern roots who have been tipped to make the England squad but have so far fallen short. Mitch Lees and Michael Paterson come to mind. Currently, Brad Shields (automatically qualified) and Michael Rhodes have been tipped. Then again, the player of the season in the Premiership so far might well be Don Armand, and he hasn't been called up. Eddie Jones has a good record with England so far but some of his selections have been enigmatic.
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
I didn't bring up the haka, T-man, you replied to someone else on the subject, and I replied to you. That's not a problem, it can be hard to recall who said what without scanning back over long threads. In this case, it certainly wasn't me who threw the topic into the conversation. I find talk of the haka often comes up when NZers feel they aren't getting enough respect. My feeling is that some of those NZers set the bar for respect impossibly high. Take the recent exchange beween Kirky and Pothale. Kirky read Will Greenwood, and believes he has written off NZ. Pothale read the same article, and pointed out Greenwood had called NZ the best in the world, and the team to beat. Kirky is just looking to take offence where none was given. Likewise, if any player or supporter dares to say his team can beat the All Blacks, then this is often regarded as a slur. Yet think how strange it would be if everyone had to express "no chance" of beating the top side. It would go against the very nature of a competitive professional player. Saying you can beat the All Blacks is not the same as saying you have no chance of losing, or that you will always beat them. My only point about the haka is that there are too many shrieks of outrage when no disrespect has actually been shown. I read what piru has to say in this little exchange, and I don't really disagree with anything he's said. I enjoy the haka, and believe it's an important tradition. I get saddened to see it undermined by a minority of vocal parties who get too precious over it.
Jumbo
Guest
Ben teo left when he was 17 after playing junior union and rugby league in nz, learning most of his basic structure there.
Jumbo
Guest
No hartley left when he was 15 after making contact with a sussex county team that was touring nz at the time. And decided to head over and play rugby because he did have family there and would be a great experience, like many lads did at that time for rugby exchanges etc.
Jumbo
Guest
Oh and don't forget jason woodward who will waltz in to the england team.
taylorman
Guest
Yes watched some of the Aviva (is that the one, theres so many tournaments up for grabs over there) and in the highlights reels the cameras just needed to sit in each 25 yard area, as nothing seems to happen in the fifty meters in between, players falling over the line as the attrition in each defence caves in after 'X' plays. Watch a SR highlights reel and the camera swivel needs an oil refill to keep up with the play up and down the park.
taylorman
Guest
Oh, you mean they created a whole new set of professional teams that could hire from overseas, well, no wonder things got better.
taylorman
Guest
I don't have a problem with the haka...says someone who brings it up out of nowhere then starts several posts on exactly why he has that problem...hmmm.