Opinions

Rugby Rugby Oracle, Paul Dobson, takes a look at the various competitions in Rugby Union to determine which is the toughest 'league' of all.

During the English Premiership match between Worcester Warriors and Northampton Saints at Sixways, the commentator referred to the Premiership as "the toughest league in the Rugby Union game".

It is an interesting thought. Not only does one need a "toughometer" and secondly a definition of league. It's not an easy statement to support or knock to pieces, as those who play in the Premiership do not play in all the other leagues that exist.

League? Is the Heineken Cup a league? the Super 14? the Six Nations? the Tri-Nations?

Here is a definition we could work to: a group of sports teams which play each other over a defined period for a championship. That's thanks to the Oxford.

In that case the Six Nations, the Super 14, the Tri-Nations, the Currie Cup, the Magners/Celtic League, the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the Air New Zealand Cup, France's Top 14 all qualify as leagues in the Rugby Union game. A league is not made up only of club sides, and "club side" is also a debatable idea. In any case the claim was not made for club sides but for the whole of Rugby Union.

Toughest? What do we use as a toughometer?  Highest standard of rugby? Highest standard of players? Most rugged players? Longest competition? Tough travel? Worst climate?

Highest standard of rugby? Surely, the Six Nations and the Tri-Nations with their concentration of top players has a higher standard of rugby and of play. One cannot really see the clubs of the Premiership competing with the teams which play in the Six Nations and the Tri-Nations, certainly not regularly.

Standard of players? The players in the Premiership are of several nationalities - English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, French, New Zealand, South African, Australian, Fijian, Samoan and Tongan - who are not all of a high standard, nor are they all in the prime of their playing lives. Not all of them would, for example, be unlikely to play in Super 14 teams. They are probably more akin to the level of player in the Top 14 and the Magners League. And then the top Premiership teams play in the Heineken Cup. It is not an old competition - just 14 years old. English clubs do have an edge, but not a massive one, having won it six times to four by Ireland and four by France.

It is probably worth noting that the players who play in the Tri-Nations and the Super 14 are from the countries ranked one, two and three in the world and they do not have players in search of pensions. They may well produce a higher standard of player and rugby than in the English Premiership.

It is doubtful that the French clubs would consider their Top 14 of a lower standard of player than that of the English clubs - especially now when France is more and more the high-paying mecca of top players.

Whether the Heineken Cup is, as the same commentator has said, is the toughest competition in Rugby Union is also a moot point. Only once has the winner of European rugby met the winner of SANZAR's Super rugby. That was in 1997 when Auckland smashed Brive 47-11.

English Clubs have also played in this new Anglo-Welsh competition, when Cardiff Blues beat Gloucester 50-12 in the Final.

It's hard to justify the commentator's assertion in terms of standard of play or player.

Length of competition? The English Premiership is made up of 12 teams which play 22 matches in a season before going on to semifinals and a Final. France's Top 14 has 14 teams who play 26 matches before going to semifinals and Finals. That is more than you get in Super 14 (13 matches plus Final and semifinals) and Six Nations and Tri-Nations. France's Top 14 has the edge when it comes to length of competition. It is also longer than the Currie Cup and the Air New Zealand Cup.

Tough travel? The Super 14 is toughest in the travel. The teams play in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. That is travel far more exacting than anything the European sides do.

Climate? If climate were the yardstick Scotland would be the toughest. In fact for climate, playing conditions and travel, the European Nations Cup could just be the toughest league of all. In any case, are the slushy fields of England tougher than the hard, dry fields of the Highveld?

The intensity of tradition? Certainly intensity adds to the toughness of an encounter. Certainly the strong traditions of a competition add to intensity.

Let's look at the age of competitions (in various numerical combinations and names but as they are today):

Six Nations: 1871
Currie Cup: 1889
French Championship: 1892
European Nations Cup: 1934
Currie Cup: 1889
French Championship: 1892
European Nations Cup: 1934
Campeanato Argentino: 1945
Campeonato Sudamericano: 1951
Scottish Premiership: 1973
Air New Zealand Cup: 1976
English Premiership: 1987
Welsh Premiership: 1990
Campeonato Nacional de Clubes (Argentina): 1993
Heineken Cup: 1996
Super 12/14: 1996
Tri-Nations: 1996
Allied Irish Banks League: 1998
Magners League/Celtic Cup: 2001
Anglo-Welsh Cup: 2008

The claim that England's Premiership is the toughest in the world is certainly debatable and quite possibly meaningless.

Which is the toughest league of all? There is quite possibly no answer.