If Internationals were Picked on Form... The Rugby Championship
If Internationals were Picked on Form...
©Max Skofic
Talking Rugby Union’s very own man down-under, Scotty Donaldson, in his latest article looks past international frequency and picks his Rugby Championship teams, based purely on Super Rugby form.
2013 saw the inaugural Rugby Championship competition play-out to great success, after Argentina joined the Tri-Nations to create the competition we have today…
With international test match rugby just around the corner, the Rugby Championship teams – including New Zealand, Australia and South Africa – have, or will be naming their squads for the June International test matches.
It is interesting comparing team selections with their Super Rugby statistics which has given us "Form XV"s for the All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks, and it is interesting to see how many of these players gained selection in the actual international training squads.
The All Black’s Form XV features 11 players who made the All Blacks training squad out of 15.
It is interesting to see the Hurricanes dominating the tight-five, which is scary given their usual reputation for having a soft underbelly.
Interestingly, Colin Slade is the form Number 10 in New Zealand ahead of Beauden Barrett; while Nademe Nadolo who isn't eligible for New Zealand has just pipped Julian Savea.
The Wallabies and Springboks squads will be named soon and it will be interesting to see if they pick on form or reputation.
The Australian Form XV is probably not too far from the likely Wallabies squad, while the South African Form XV doesn't require too many big names, so it will be interesting to see how many form players make the Springboks.
Who do you think should make the Springboks, All Blacks and Wallabies and should it be based on form or reputation?
We've crunched the numbers by country and come up with the best starting fifteen for each.
How does this compare with the players being selected for the international window?
This squads have been picked entirely on Super Rugby fantasy points earned from the series to date.
The calculation only includes the starting 15 of each week, and a player must have started at least 5 games in their position.
The position they most commonly played is the position they are considered for, and only games played in that position contribute toward the calculation.
Also, there has been no attempt to filter out import players - they show for the country in which their Super Rugby team represents.
What do you think..?
South Africa:
Australia:
New Zealand:
