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The average height and weight of pro-rugby players by position in Europe
Rugby is an ever evolving sport, in both the laws and the way the game is played around the world. By virtue of that, teams change with the times.
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But there are certain stereotypes that some nations cannot shake, which is by no means a bad thing.
Within each nation, the league is often a bellwether of how its representative team plays, as it is often the platform in which players enter the Test arena.
As the Heineken Champions Cup and Super Rugby mirror the divide between the northern and southern hemispheres, so does each league reflect its host country.
It’s hard to deny that the physical, and at times lumbering, nature of the Top 14 has been matched by Les Bleus in the same way the All Blacks’ fluid game is a result of the way their five franchises play.
France looked to have taken a quantum leap into modernity in the 2020 Six Nations, but it will still take a while for the national team, and perhaps the league, to shake off the reputation it has garnered over the past decade of decline they have found themselves in.
One of the best ways of quantifying how a team plays is by looking at the height and weight of the players. It is not a sureproof approach but it is useful. For instance, Warren Gatland’s direct and uncompromising style of play with Wales was dependent on larger backs in the way of Jamie Roberts and George North. Much in the same way, Scotland’s higher tempo game in recent years has been facilitated by a lighter pack.
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After comparing the height and weights of each individual position in the three leagues, aggregating them will help in giving a greater impression of how each league plays, and whether the national setup follows suit.
The best round of fixtures to compare each league was probably the first weekend in January, which was sufficiently spaced between the Rugby World Cup and the Six Nations, before European fixtures and before the COVID-19 pandemic suspended all play.
As it turns out, this hiatus midway through the season has meant some players have already left their clubs ahead of the new Top 14 season, or the resumption of the Premiership and PRO14. The majority of the players are still with the same clubs, and their statistics have been taken from their club’s website.
Only the starting players from each league were used, rather than using the bench as well, as it is ultimately the team that plays the longest period. Teams in France have the tendency to unleash some behemoths from the bench in the pack, the likes of which are not often seen in the other leagues, but are also players that are unlikely to start.
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When looking at the total height and weights of all three leagues, the most striking thing is how similar each league was. The height of players was more or less identical, with only half a centimetre separating the Top 14, 185.5m (6ft 1in), from the Premiership and the PRO14, both 1.86m (6ft 1in).
Like Liverpool, Bath are a club with a great pedigree in the sport, having been the flagship side in English rugby during the 80’s and early 90’s, though they have long since seceded that moniker, writes @alexshawsport https://t.co/oQcaMHTEJL
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 26, 2020
In the same way, only two kilograms separated the Premiership, 103kgs (16st 3lbs), from the Top 14 and the PRO14, both 101kgs (15st 13lbs).
This does not reveal too much about each league, but the averages of the forwards and backs as collectives are slightly more helpful.
The average height of the forwards in all three leagues was 1.89m (6ft 2ins). Such uniformity may be expected given the minimum and maximum heights that players can effectively operate at in the pack, particularly the front five.
It is slightly more surprising that there is parity amongst the backs between each league as well, with the Premiership and PRO14 averaging 1.86m (6ft 1in), and the Top 14 averaging 185.5m (6ft 1in).
As seen when looking at wingers, this is a position that accommodates a wide range of players, as do the centres. The most glaring example of this was Montpellier on this weekend, who had the 1.94m (6ft 4ins) Nemani Nadolo on one wing, and the 1.73m (5ft 8ins) Gabriel Ngandebe on the other.
The strapping centre is heavily rumoured with a move to the Scarlets, and if it transpires he will be backed to fill a Hadleigh Parkes-sized hole in Wales' midfield, writes @OwainJTJones https://t.co/FNXxOFq0MA
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 26, 2020
There is never such a chasm between players in the same position amongst the forwards, which is why it is all the more surprising that all the leagues are virtually identical, as there is so much diversity. Then again, the average between Nadolo and Ngandebe is roughly equal to a normal winger.
The weight of forwards and backs in each league offers a bit more variety, but still not a great deal.
The Premiership actually produced both the heaviest forwards and backs. The forwards in England were 113kgs (17st 11lbs), a kilogram heavier than France, and two kilograms heavier than the PRO14.
The Top 14 historically has the reputation of having heavier packs, but is marginally eclipsed by the Premiership, but there is still very little to separate the leagues either side of the Channel. When taking into account the gargantuas that sometimes sit on the Top 14 benches, the averages may be slightly different.
France produced the lightest backs, at 90kgs (14st 2lbs), while, as mentioned, England produced the heaviest, 93kgs (14st 9lbs), and the PRO14 sat in between, at 91.5kgs (14st 6lbs).
In terms of reflecting the national teams of each league, the Premiership is a great indicator of how England play. The forwards in the Premiership shaded the Top 14 on this weekend courtesy of playing some sizeable blindside flankers, particularly locks that have moved to the back row.
Johan Ackermann is making his presence felt in Japan. ?https://t.co/HM9obCMI6V
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 26, 2020
Courtney Lawes, Nick Isiekwe, Steve Mafi and Harry Wells all wore the No6 shirt on this weekend; all players that are primarily locks that can play at blindside as well. This is a tactic that has been frequently adopted by Eddie Jones since he took charge of England in 2016, often using Lawes as a No6. Such an approach has not been embraced by other countries in the Six Nations, and as a result it is less common in the Top 14 and PRO14.
Even in the backs, the centres in the Premiership were significantly heavier than their rival leagues, which once again parallels the way Jones likes to play; always wanting a powerful ball carrier in the form of Manu Tuilagi, or previously Ben Te’o.
The lighter pack in the Top 14 may also be symptomatic of the new French team under Fabien Galthié. The fitness levels, especially in defence, of Les Bleus in the most recent Six Nations were a far cry from previous years, and bore the mark of any side coached by Shaun Edwards.
However, after only four games in charge of France, these are still early days under Galthié, and therefore harder to draw any links between the Top 14 and the national team.
Another key man who won't be available for Sarries next season. https://t.co/xqRu0PeplF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 26, 2020
Likewise, it is also hard to jump to any conclusions from the PRO14, not only because Wales, Ireland and Italy all have new coaches, but so many teams comprise the league. It would be a fairly crude summary of each nation to base it on one specific gameweek of a league that only has two teams from each country competing in it, in the case of Italy, Scotland and South Africa.
But these stats probably provide the greatest insight into England and Jones, partly because he has been in the role for the longest period. This is only done by digging under the surface though, as the three leagues in Europe look almost homogenous.
Total Forwards
Top 14: 1.89m (6ft 2ins)/ 112kgs (17st 9lbs)
Premiership: 1.89m (6ft 2ins)/ 113kgs (17st 11lbs)
PRO14: 1.89m (6ft 2ins)/ 111kgs (17st 7lbs)
Total Backs
Top 14 1.82m (6ft)/ 90kgs (14st 2lbs)
Premiership 1.825m (6ft)/ 93kgs (14st 9lbs)
PRO14 1.83m (6ft)/ 91.5kgs (14st 6lbs)
Total
Top 14: 185.5m (6ft 1in)/ 101kgs (15st 13lbs)
Premiership: 1.86m (6ft 1in)/ 103kgs (16st 3lbs)
PRO14: 1.86m (6ft 1in) / 101kgs (15st 13lbs)
Loosehead prop
Top 14: 1.83m (6ft)/ 118kgs (18st 8lbs)
Premiership: 1.84m (6ft)/ 117kgs (18st 6lbs)
PRO14: 1.84m (6ft)/ 115kgs (18st 1lbs)
Hooker
Top 14: 1.81m (5ft 11ins)/ 107kgs (16st 12lbs)
Premiership: 1.82 (6ft 0ins)/ 106kgs (16st 10lbs)
PRO14: 1.83m (6ft 0ins)/ 106kgs (16st 10lbs)
Tighthead prop
Top 14: 1.85m (6ft 1ins)/ 118kgs(18st 8lbs)
Premiership: 1.87m (6ft 2ins)/ 121kgs (19st)
PRO14: 1.85m (6ft 1ins)/ 118kgs (18st 8lbs)
Lock
Top 14: 2m (6ft 7ins) / 117.5kgs (18st 7lbs)
Premiership: 1.98m (6ft 6ins) / 117.7kgs (18st 8lbs)
PRO14: 1.98m (6ft 6ins)/ 114kgs (17st 13lbs)
Flanker
Top 14:
No7: 1.92m (6ft 4ins)/ 107kgs
No6: 1.92m (6ft 4ins)/ 105kgs
Overall: 1.92m (6ft 4ins)/ 106kgs (16st 10lbs)
It's been a busy morning at Kingsholm.https://t.co/yx0BlHYV4c
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 26, 2020
Premiership
No7: 1.87m (6ft 2ins)/ 105kgs (16st 7lbs)
No6: Avg. 1.95m (6ft 5ins)/ 113kgs (17st 11lbs)
Overall: 1.91m (6ft 3ins)/ 109kgs (17st 2lbs)
PRO14
No7: 1.88m (6ft 2ins)/ 104kgs(16st 5lbs)
No6: 1.91m (6ft 3ins)/ 109kgs (17st 2lbs)
Overall: 1.895m (6ft 3ins)/ 106.5kgs (16st 11lbs)
No8
Top 14: 1.91m (6ft 3ins)/ 113kgs (17st 11lbs)
Premiership: 1.9m (6ft 3ins)/ 113kgs (17st 11lbs)
PRO14 : 1.91m (6ft 3ins)/ 108kgs (17st)
Scrum-half
Top 14: 1.76m (5ft 9ins)/ 79kgs (12st 6lbs)
Premiership: 1.76m (5ft 9ins)/ 84kgs (13st 3lbs)
PRO14: 1.77m (5ft 10ins)/ 84kgs (13st 3lbs)
Fly-half
Top 14: 1.82m (6ft)/ 88kgs (13st 12lbs)
Premiership: 1.82m (6ft)/ 90kgs (14st 2lbs)
PRO14: 1.84m (6ft)/ 90kgs (14st 2lbs)
Inside centre
Top 14: 1.84m (6ft)/ 97kgs (15st 4lbs)
Premiership: 1.84m (6ft)/ 101kgs (16st)
PRO14: 1.86m (6ft 1in)/ 99.5kgs (15st 9lbs)
Outside centre
Top 14: 1.84m (6ft)/ 94kgs (14st 11lbs)
Premiership: 1.87m (6ft 2ins)/ 99kgs (15st 8lbs)
PRO14: 1.83m (6ft)/ 94kgs (14st 11lbs)
The match has been all but confirmed ? There are going to be more than a few disappointed folks with the eligibility decision though… #AllBlacks #SuperRugbyAotearoa #NorthvSouthhttps://t.co/dw3Y9TEbNi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 26, 2020
Wingers
Top 14:
Left wing: 1.83m (6ft)/ 90kgs (14st 2lbs)
Right wing: 1.84m (6ft)/ 91kgs (14st 5lbs)
Overall: 1.835m (6ft)/ 90.5kgs (14st 4lbs)
Premiership:
Left wing: 1.84m (6ft)/ 95kgs (14st 13lbs)
Right wing: 1.84m (6ft)/ 96kgs (15st 2lbs)
Overall: 1.84m (6ft)/ 95.5kgs (15st1lb)
PRO14:
Left wing: 1.83m (6ft)/ 90kgs (14st 2lbs)
Right wing: 1.84m (6ft)/ 93kgs (14st 9lbs)
Overall: 1.835m (6ft)/ 91.5kgs (14st 8lbs)
Fullback
Top 14: 1.83m (6ft)/ 91kgs (14st 5lbs)
Premiership: 1.82m (6ft)/ 90kgs (14st 2lbs)
PRO14: 1.84m (6ft)/ 90kgs (14st 2lbs)
Total Forwards
Top 14 1.89m (6ft 2ins)/ 112kgs (17st 9lbs)
Premiership 1.89m (6ft 2ins)/ 113kgs (17st 11lbs)
PRO14 1.89m (6ft 2ins)/ 111kgs (17st 7lbs)
Overall Backs
Top 14 1.82m (6ft)/ 90kgs (14st 2lbs)
Premiership 1.825m (6ft)/ 93kgs (14st 9lbs)
PRO14 1.83m (6ft)/ 91.5kgs (14st 6lbs)
Total
Top 14 185.5m (6ft 1in)/ 101kgs (15st 13lbs)
Premiership 1.86m (6ft 1in)/ 103kgs (16st 3lbs)
PRO14 1.86m (6ft 1in) / 101kgs (15st 13lbs)
Comments on RugbyPass
Should've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to comments