The following information is taken from the Sunday Star Times newspaper, June 11, 2000 pages 2 & 4.
They are very interesting & may provide an insight into New Zealand rugby. They also dispell a couple of myths about All Black & NZ rugby.
Firstly here are the latest IRB figures showing registered rugby players in all the different rugby playing nations.
|
|
Country |
Players |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
England |
541000 |
|
2 |
South Africa |
308000 |
|
3 |
France |
241200 |
|
4 |
Japan |
146800 |
|
5 |
New Zealand |
120800 |
|
6 |
Australia |
111350 |
|
7 |
Ireland |
64900 |
|
8 |
Argentina |
55250 |
|
9 |
Fiji |
55100 |
|
10 |
Wales |
53520 |
|
11 |
Canada |
47000 |
|
12 |
Scotland |
43100 |
|
13 |
Italy |
36600 |
|
14 |
United States |
30200 |
|
15 |
Spain |
14800 |
|
16 |
Samoa |
14300 |
Hhhhhhhhmmmmmmmm....so why is it England & France haven't won a World Cup? Why don't South Africa thrash NZ consisently? Why have Australia caught up to NZ in rugby terms? Makes interesting reading doesn't it? We've got great depth in NZ rugby, but how much of that depth is down to superior coaching, training, attitudes etc etc. We certainly don't have an overwhelming player pool do we!
Some more interesting figures follow. Man NZ rugby is in the doldrums huh? All through the nineties we seem to have struggled to maintain our dominance. Or have we? Have we been that bad? Of course the 1998 season was the worst in All Black history. And last years World Cup failure was dismall...but have a look at these tables....
Comparing the Eras
|
Era |
Played |
Winning % |
|---|---|---|
|
1903-1914 |
23 |
78.30% |
|
1921-1939 |
36 |
58.30% |
|
1946-1959 |
40 |
65.00% |
|
1960-1969 |
42 |
83.40% |
|
1970-1979 |
45 |
60.00% |
|
1980-1989 |
57 |
78.90% |
|
1990-1995 |
51 |
72.50% |
|
1996-1999 |
41 |
75.60% |
All Black test record in the 1990's
|
|
Played |
Won |
Drew |
Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New Zealand |
92 |
68 (73.9%) |
2 (2.2%) |
22 (23.9%) |
|
Australia |
95 |
70 (73.7%) |
1 (1%) |
24 (25.3%) |
|
South Africa |
82 |
54 (65.9%) |
2 (2.4%) |
26 (31.7%) |
|
England |
90 |
59 (65.6%) |
3 (3.3%) |
28 (31.1%) |
|
France |
113 |
73 (64.6%) |
1 (0.9%) |
39 (34.5%) |
Since professionalism 1996-1999
|
|
Played |
Won |
Drew |
Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New Zealand |
41 |
31 (75.6%) |
1 (2.4%) |
9 (22%) |
|
Australia |
48 |
35 (72.9%) |
1 (2.1%) |
12 (25%) |
|
South Africa |
51 |
35 (68.6%) |
0 (2.4%) |
16 (31.4%) |
|
France |
47 |
30 (63.8%) |
0 (3.3%) |
17 (36.2%) |
|
England |
47 |
22 (53.7%) |
3 (7.3%) |
16 (39%) |
New Zealand v the Best of the Rest in the 90's
|
New Zealand |
Played |
Won |
Drew |
Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
v Australia |
23 |
13 |
0 |
10 |
|
v South Africa |
17 |
11 |
1 |
5 |
|
v England |
8 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|
v France |
8 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
|
Australia |
Played |
Won |
Drew |
Lost |
|
v South Africa |
14 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
|
v England |
8 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|
v France |
9 |
7 |
0 |
2 |
|
South Africa |
Played |
Won |
Drew |
Lost |
|
v England |
8 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
|
v France |
9 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
Which ever way you look at it, the All Blacks in terms of winning percentages still managed to come out on top in the decade of the 90's. Its that fact that makes the 2 heartbreaking World Cup failures more damning! Being the form team in both competitions up until they lost is something that is kinda hard to take. What is significant though is Australia's emergence as the AB's main threat. Also of interest in the AB's poor record against France! A 50-50 record in the nineties. All the Southern Hemisphere nations have given England a pasting during that time, winning 17 & only losing 5 (3 by South Africa). Australia seemingly struggles to overcome South Africa wheras the AB's have domianted them since their comeback into the international fold. When comparing the era's the 2 worst for the AB's have come in the 1903-1914 & 1970-1979 (surprisingly) years.
I guess what AB fans have got to remember is since professional rugby came into being, our S12 franchises have dominated the S12 (WOO HOO Canterbury!) and the AB's have won 3 of the 4 Tri-Nations tournaments. Things ain't that bad!
So a few things proved (Australia's emergence) & a few myths killed in these statistical wonders! Enjoy!
