Since when did test matches not matter?
When World Rugby were playing with the idea of introducing a season long competition to the international rugby scene, there was reasonably widespread outrage.
Two of the biggest points of contention were the exclusion of top performing tier two Southern Hemisphere nations in favour of other less deserving (but money-rich) sides, and the potential introduction of promotion and relegation to the Six Nations.
The other issue was that people quite rightly took umbrage to the idea that some higher-ups seemed to be suggesting that test matches lacked purpose if there was no overall prize at the end of the season.
Unlike the round ball code, where internationals are very much considered friendlies unless there’s a major trophy on offer such as the European Cup, rugby has always considered international matches the peak of the game.
Professionalism, however, has slowly but surely changed things.
World Cup state of mind
The World Cup, since its inception, has widely been considered the pinnacle of professional rugby. World Rugby rankings may get some time in the limelight when there are no major competitions taking place, but you can bet that more people remember who won the 2007 Rugby World Cup than which team spent the three years preceding the competition at the top of the rankings.
Still, while the World Cup may have been the peak of the game, individual test matches were still incredibly important.
We’re now reaching a point, however, where games between top-tier teams and fierce rivals are losing their lustre and importance because they’re effectively being used as warm-ups and trials for the big event.
Earlier this year, Steve Hansen was very quick to point out that the World Cup was the priority this year and everything leading up to it wouldn’t matter in the greater scheme of things.
“If we don’t win [The Rugby Championship], we won’t lose any sleep over that,” Hansen said of the competition that was once considered the pinnacle of South Hemisphere international rugby.
“We want to win the Bledisloe Cup, for sure, and want to win the World Cup.
“Along the way we have to make some sacrifices to do that and we may have to take some risks … but hopefully we’ll get the rewards.”
In 2011 and 2015 the All Blacks ceded the Rugby Championship but still went on to win the World Cup, but that doesn’t mean those tournaments couldn’t have been won as well as the top prize.
Imagine the likes of former coaches Bryan Lochore, Alex Wylie or John Hart suggesting that they wouldn’t lose sleep over suffering a defeat to the Springboks or the Wallabies.
The problem with professional rugby right now is that there’s always something bigger to prepare for.
Dominated by future thought
A large proportion of the discussion that comes out of any provincial, club or Super Rugby match simply revolves around which players have advanced their cases for national selection.
We’re now reaching a point where international matches themselves are only being assessed within the sphere of the World Cup.
That’s not the fault of the coaches, however – they know that they’ll be judged not on their overall records but on their performances at the World Cup. This is particularly true when it comes to the coaches of the top teams. The rhetoric around coaches of England, South Africa and New Zealand seems to only concern whether or not they brought home the William Webb Ellis Cup during their tenure.
Sir Graham Henry is one of the most successful All Blacks coaches in rugby history. In his first four years in the job, Henry lost just six matches from 48 played, giving him an 88% success rate. That would have made him the most successful All Blacks coach ever who had been in control for more than 15 matches.
Henry’s All Blacks were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup in the quarter-finals by France (New Zealand’s worst ever finish) and Henry almost lost his job because of it. Thankfully, he didn’t – and he went on to coach the All Blacks to a 2011 title.
There’s reason to rate the World Cup as a greater accomplishment than other tournaments, but that doesn’t mean everything should be pushed to the side to accommodate for it.
Using massive fixtures as simple warm-ups
Perhaps the greatest insult is that matches which were once considered exciting, impassioned fights to the death are now being billed as mere ‘warm-ups’.
Until 2003 Wales and England had played each another only once every year since 1881. It was one of the biggest, annual matches in the sporting calendar. In 2003, they did battle three times: once in the Six Nations, once as warm-up for the World Cup, and one in the showpiece tournament. In 2011 they again had three matches whilst in 2007 and 2015 they played each other twice.
This year, the British rivals will play two warm-up matches and could then face off again in either the quarter-finals or grand final of the World Cup. Factor in the Six Nations epic earlier this year and we could be set for four games between the two sides.
Whilst it’s always going to be easy to get excited by matches between England and Wales, the magnitude of the clash certainly loses some of its character when we’re seeing it happen so many times in one calendar year.
People were worried that the Nations League was going to undermine the World Cup – but that’s exactly what the World Cup has already done to other competitions and other test matches.
That’s not to say that there isn’t still a huge amount of interest in these games. International rugby has always been the peak of the sport and the World Cup is the peak of international rugby. The players themselves won’t ever feel content after a loss just because a match was a warm-up – but that’s an attitude that needs to be maintained by coaches, union and fans alike.
We’re not yet at a point where individual matches have lost their spark. Test matches are still passionate, brutal affairs – but professionalism has brought with it a cost. If the eyes are always on the prize at the end of the four-year cycle then we’re at risk of seeing regular international fixtures lose their importance in the rugby calendar, which would be a huge shame.
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments