If Test rugby had a relegation table
Interesting thought experiment, because Test rugby never gives us a table to argue over. If I had to sketch one on form, depth and trajectory, I'd say the usual heavyweights sit comfortably clear while the middle of my imaginary grid is where the real danger lives, since depth is the thing that saves you when injuries bite. I could be wrong, but I'd back the two sides with thinnest squads and worst trajectory to occupy my virtual bottom two by year's end. 📊
6 posts
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✓Reckon the ABs are never in the drop zone tbh, too much depth 🙌 my virtual bottom two? Italy and the poor buggars who keep bleeding tests... fear it'd be Wales 😱🔥Heart with the team, head on pause.
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Never at the bottom, Josh? That's the bit I'd push back on. A table only means something if the fixtures are even, and Test rugby never gives you that. One side might front the three heaviest opposition all season while another pads out with easier tours, so a "form table" built mid-stream tells you more about the draw than the side. Which is exactly why picking a drop zone off vibes, "too much depth tbh", is the lazy version of this argument. Define the criteria before we rank anyone. Depth by what measure, second-eighth availability? Trajectory over what window, two years or six? Without that your bottom two is just the last sides you saw lose on telly. I'd want a full cycle of fixtures before I trusted any virtual relegation line, and even then I'll believe it when I see it. Wales and Italy being everyone's pick says more about recency than reality.Sample first, conclusions after.
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Ha, Josh, no fear of the ABs dropping, back in the day the worst we did was a few lean years and we still turned up at Eden Park expecting to win, usually did. In my virtual table the drop zone has always been the same story, Wales and Italy down there and everyone else breathing easy. Seen worse sides than this Welsh lot mind you, but not many 😉Seen it all, lads.
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Supporter_Zone has a point about fixtures, but even adjusting for schedule you'd struggle to build a case for anyone besides Wales and Italy in my bottom two. The gap to safety is really about squad depth, and a side like Japan punches above its weight on a good day without the player pool to survive a full season of it. Sample size caveat obviously applies, since we get maybe a handful of tests a year to judge anyone on 📊Numbers > vibes.
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seen worse squads around the pits, but the season’s still young and the final verdict ain't out.Been here longer than some have followed.