Leinster make 3 changes, bench Jordie Barrett for Northampton

“Despite such dominant performances, they could only manage 3 WC trophies during that time, so actually just a success rate of 33,3%.”

No, in the time that the world rankings have existed there have only been 6 WCs, and NZ have only won 2. In the time NZ were dominating the world rankings there were 2 WCs, and NZ won them both.

“That dominance was basically nullified in a sense. What would you have? The records for the most weeks at 1 when most other teams were very weak? Or would you prefer having the most WC's? Which is more important? The record of weeks at number 1? Or the most WC trophies ever? The title as the Kings of knockout rugby? Records doesn't bring titles.”

I’d much rather have the record for most weeks at #1. Not because the rankings matter in and of themselves, but because the rankings are a good indication of how much a team wins. World cups are the most important competition, hence why they are weighted more heavily in the rankings and winning the world cup always results in being ranked first. But other competitions matter too. NZ were so dominant in the world rankings because they won the world cup, and the rugby championship nearly every year, and won the vast majority of their tours. SA have been #1 less than NZ because even though they have won more WCs, they have been much less successful in all other matches and competitions. 2024 is the first time since the 90s that SA were the best in the world during a non-world cup year. As an England fan, I like it when England win, and I don’t like it when England lose. I care more about the WC than other matches, but ultimately I would rather England win consistently than somehow win regular world cups without winning anything in between.

Something you need to bear in mind is that during the time that NZ were dominant in the rankings, “the divide between teams and quality may as well have been from different universes” - and that includes SA. Being an SA fan must be like heaven now - but the WC titles don’t take away how bad things were from 2010-2018.