A Rugby World Cup 4 Nations
RugbyWorld CupIrelandFranceNew ZealandSouth AfricaSix NationsFour Nations
Now that the disappointment of Ireland's elimination at the 2023 Rugby World Cup has mostly gone, there was something that I noticed after the Semi Finals were over. The way that the draw was conducted, althoguh leaving a very lopsided halves, it also meant that the top 4 ranked teams in the world pretty much all played each other over that month period. The exception was Ireland did not get a chance to play France. This made me think, what would a 4 nations tournament table look like if we take these recent results into account. So I decided to tot it all up.
The four teams of course are Ireland, France, New Zealand, and South Africa. Ireland entered the World Cup ranked number one and had high hopes to finally break their Quarter Final duck. The 2019 champions South Africa were their main opponent in their group. While France and New Zealand were set to open the tournament at the Stade de France in Paris.
First we have to deal with the fact that Ireland did not play France so I've taken their most recent game instead which was back in the Six Nations. All other results were from the world cup itself so all of the results are within a tournament setting with most being from the same tournament and at the same time of year. Standard scoring applies, 4 points for a win and 2 for a draw. I'm also using winning and losing bonus points and I'm using the Six Nations criteria to separate teams on the same points. This is because it is more like that competition than the World Cup Pool stage where the result between the two teams was more of a factor.
Ireland (32) - (19) France
11th February 2023 A 4-try win for Ireland gives them a great start in the competition and a full 5 points. No bonus points for France leaves them at the bottom of the table.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Tries | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | South Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 32 | -13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
France (27) - (13) New Zealand
8th September 2023
A seven month wait until the next match sees France get their first points on the board. With only two tries, there's no bonus points on offer here. New Zealand had two tries of their own but couldn't close the gap for a losing bonus point.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Tries | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | France | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 45 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | South Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 27 | -14 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
South Africa (8) - (13) Ireland
23rd September 2023
Ireland convert their second win of the competition with a close run match with South Africa. The Boks keep the score within 7 so come away with a losing bonus point.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Tries | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 27 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | France | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 45 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 27 | -14 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Ireland (24) - (28) New Zealand
14th October 2023
Ireland complete their tournament with a disappointing loss to New Zealand, scoring three further tries. A losing bonus point brings their final tournament total to 10 points. Three tries for New Zealand gives them their first points but still no bonus.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Tries | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 55 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | France | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 45 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 51 | -10 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
France (28) - (29) South Africa
15th October 2023
The penultimate match ends with a narrow win for South Africa and with 4 tries scored, it leaves them with a chance to pip Ireland to the title with either a bonus point win against New Zealand or any win by 11 points. France end with a losing bonus point and a final tournament total of 5 points.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Tries | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 55 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | South Africa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 41 | -4 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 74 | 74 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 51 | -10 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
New Zealand (11) - (12) South Africa
28th October 2023
The tournament ends with a tense match between the southern hemisphere giants. South Africa won by the smallest margin, which may have won them the World Cup, but didn't give them enough to overtake Ireland in the table. New Zealand remain bottom on points difference despite the losing bonus point.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Tries | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 55 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 52 | -3 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 74 | 74 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 52 | 63 | -11 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
Top Scorers
Ramos for France is the runaway winner of the highest scorer with 44 out of 74 points for France. Sexton, Pollard and Mo'unga round out the top four places. For try scorers there was a good spread of players with Baille, Kolbe, Penaud, Savea, and Tele'a all scoring twice.
| Player (Team) | Tries | Conv | Pens | Drop Goals | Points Scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramos (France) | 0 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 44 |
| Sexton (Ireland) | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Pollard (South Africa) | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 17 |
| Mo'unga (New Zealand) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| Baille (France) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Kolbe (South Africa) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Penaud (France) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Savea (New Zealand) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Tele'a (New Zealand) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| J Barrett (New Zealand) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Libbok (South Africa) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Aki (Ireland) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Arendse (South Africa) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| B Barrett (New Zealand) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Byrne (Ireland) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| de Allende (South Africa) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Etzebeth (South Africa) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Fainga'anuku (New Zealand) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Hansen (Ireland) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Jaminet (France) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Gibson-Park (Ireland) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Jordan (New Zealand) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Keenan (Ireland) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Lowe (Ireland) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Mauvaka (France) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Porter (Ireland) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Ringrose (Ireland) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Crowley (Ireland) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Fair Play Table
Ireland did not fall foul of the Referee cards in any of the matches. New Zealand ended up with the most penalties.
| Team | Yellow Cards | Red Cards |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 0 | 0 |
| France | 1 | 0 |
| South Africa | 3 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 4 | 1 |
Conclusion
So no silverware for Ireland in the real world from this World Cup but they do come top of my imaginary four nations tournament. Every cloud has their silver lining.
Paddy.