And a partridge in a pear tree: The Rugby World Cup in Numbers

by robbo277 Thu 21 Jul 2011, 11:34 pm

So with 50 days until the 2011 Rugby World Cup, I have decided to do a World Cup countdown, with every day giving a World Cup stat that corresponds to that number. These stats could be about a previous World Cup, about 2011 World Cup qualifying (especially with some of the minor nations), a World Cup record or a stat about the upcoming World Cup.

I don't have stats for all the numbers yet, so if anyone has an interesting World Cup stat please send it to me in a message (messages along the lines of x - number of foreign-born players in England's World Cup squad will not be appreciated!). Even if I have the number, your stat could be better than mine, and I might use yours anyway! As I say, I am short a couple, so any stats would be appreciated!

Every day I'll post the new stat as a new message, and also update the original message with the new stat.

So here we go:
21st July - 50 days to the World Cup
Japan qualified for the 2011 World Cup by winning the 2010 Asian Five Nations, and managed to score a whopping 50 tries in their 4 matches (against Kazakhstan, Hong Kong Arabian Gulf and South Korea).

22nd July - 49 days before the World Cup
The highest individual team score in a World Cup knock-out match was New Zealand 49 Vs 6 Wales in the 1987 Rugby World Cup semi-final.

23rd July - 48 days before the World Cup.
There will be 48 games of Rugby at the upcoming World Cup. 10 games in each of the 4 pools before 8 knock-out games. Each country is guaranteed a minimum of 4 games and can play a maximum of 7.

24th July - 47 days before the World Cup
Canada beat USA 47-30 over 2 matches to claim the Americas 1 qualifying place.

25th July - 46 days before the World Cup
A reported 46,000 people attended the first ever Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park in 1987, a figure that has grown tournament-by-tournament to around 80,000 now.

26th July - 45 days before the World Cup
The most points by a single player in a World Cup game is the 45 Simon Culhane scored for New Zealand in 1995 against Japan. New Zealand are due to meet Japan again in the 2011 World Cup.

27th July - 44 days before the World Cup
New Zealand have the highest points per game ratio in Rugby World Cup history, with an average of 44.6 points scored each game.
Stat provided by: leinsterbaby

28th July - 43 days before the World Cup
In the 1999 Rugby World Cup Semi-Final, France played New Zealand in what has been dubbed the "Greatest Game in World Cup History", beating the All Blacks 43 - 31.

29th July - 42 days before the World Cup
Scotland beat Romania 42 - 0 in 2007, becoming the first country to win-to-nil 3 times in World Cup history (a record since equalled by New Zealand, who coincidently beat Scotland 40-0 in the same competition, making Scotland the only country in World Cup history to win-to-nil and also lose-to-nil in World Cups).

by Countnefarious Fri 22 Jul 2011, 6:09 am

I've nothing helpful to add, but I like this

.

by emack2 Fri 22 Jul 2011, 6:51 am

Yes.John Kirwin has got them firing.Pacific Champions too,not quite the same since big 3 A sides are not there.
But it is certainly a Fillip for the sides ivolved that they all have real chance of winning something not just be cannon fodder for the big boys.
Playing understrength teams against ANY of the sides involved in the RWC could be asking for real trouble.

by AsLongAsBut100ofUs Fri 22 Jul 2011, 6:54 am

Robbo, keep up the good work

by Effervescing Elephant Fri 22 Jul 2011, 10:11 am

Me likey stats!!!! And a partridge in a pear tree: The Rugby World Cup in Numbers 2927775184

by kiakahaaotearoa Fri 22 Jul 2011, 10:33 am

You´ve set yourself an ambitious task there mate but I applaud you. clap

If you get stuck in the 40s you can always use the latitude of NZ which finds itself in the roaring 40s.

50 could be 50kg that Caucau has put on since the last RWC.

by TheGreyGhost Fri 22 Jul 2011, 3:20 pm

Tomorrow's 49 is easy. This is the number of times John Inverdale will mention Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal in the 2003 RWC final prior to any game of rugby he presents.

by Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler Fri 22 Jul 2011, 3:42 pm

TheGreyGhost wrote:Tomorrow's 49 is easy. This is the number of times I will mention Wayne Barnes in the 2003 RWC semi final during any conversation

by funnyExiledScot Fri 22 Jul 2011, 3:50 pm

TheGreyGhost wrote:Tomorrow's 49 is easy. This is the number of times John Inverdale will mention Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal in the 2003 RWC final prior to any game of rugby he presents.

Spot on! You could make a drinking game out of Inverdale, but whoever drew the short straw of having to drink each time JI mentioned 2003 would be comatose in short order.

by yappysnap Fri 22 Jul 2011, 4:38 pm

Good work Robbo,

Are they all going to be posted at the last hour of the day though? As i'm curious about todays already.

by robbo277 Fri 22 Jul 2011, 5:17 pm

I prepared a(n incomplete) list earlier in the week, and completely forgot about it yesterday until about 11pm. I'll post the next one shortly. It won't be about John Inverdale unfortunately.

by MBTGOG Fri 22 Jul 2011, 5:22 pm

TheGreyGhost wrote:Tomorrow's 49 is easy. This is the number of times John Inverdale will mention Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal in the 2003 RWC final prior to any game of rugby he presents.

That's alright so considering he won't be presenting in this World Cup given it's on ITV.

by robbo277 Fri 22 Jul 2011, 5:26 pm

Woohoo, I found a better 49 then the one I had (that was okay, but not technically about the number 49). So here it is:

22nd July - 49 days before the World Cup
The highest individual team score in a World Cup knock-out match was New Zealand 49 Vs 6 Wales in the 1987 Rugby World Cup semi-final.

Does anyone remember watching this match? (I don't, it was a year before I was born!) Was anyone there live? Just to complete the history lesson, New Zealand went on to win the Cup (against France in the final) while Wales bounced back to clinch third in a close game against Australia.

by Coleman Fri 22 Jul 2011, 8:59 pm

Maybe for tomorrow

48 is the number you get if you add up all of the back line numbers, 9, 10, 11... (84) and subtract it by all of the pack numbers, 1, 2, 3... (36). Not a stat but maybe a fun fact?

by robbo277 Sat 23 Jul 2011, 9:23 am

Coleman wrote:Maybe for tomorrow

48 is the number you get if you add up all of the back line numbers, 9, 10, 11... (84) and subtract it by all of the pack numbers, 1, 2, 3... (36). Not a stat but maybe a fun fact?

Very fun fact, although not World Cup specific. My stat is fairly boring by comparison:

23rd July - 48 days before the World Cup.
There will be 48 matches at the upcoming World Cup. 10 games in each of the 4 pools before 8 knock-out games. Each country is guaranteed a minimum of 4 games and can play a maximum of 7.

by robbo277 Sun 24 Jul 2011, 11:14 pm

Anyone still care?

24th July - 47 days before the World Cup
Canada beat USA 47-30 over 2 matches to claim the Americas 1 qualifying place.

They were the first team to qualify, other than the 12 teams that qualified automatically due to finishing 3rd or better in their RWC07 pool.

by robbo277 Tue 26 Jul 2011, 11:11 am

Got distracted yesterday by the cricket, so here is a double header.

25th July - 46 days before the World Cup
A reported 46,000 people attended the first ever Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park in 1987, a figure that has grown tournament-by-tournament to around 80,000 now.

26th July - 45 days before the World Cup
The most points by a single player in a World Cup game is the 45 Simon Culhane scored for New Zealand in 1995 against Japan. New Zealand are due to meet Japan again in the 2011 World Cup.

by Effervescing Elephant Tue 26 Jul 2011, 11:19 am

Good stats Robbo. Doing a sterling job!

by GunsGerms Tue 26 Jul 2011, 11:38 am

For tomorrow:

44 (44.6) is the average amount of points per game NZ have scored at the WC.

by GunsGerms Tue 26 Jul 2011, 11:43 am

..... The second highest points tally in a game was Gavin Hastings 44 points v Ivory Coast.

by yappysnap Tue 26 Jul 2011, 1:00 pm

Blimey some of those minnows do take an utter spanking!

Good work Robo! I really couldn't manage this myself.

by dogtooth Tue 26 Jul 2011, 3:06 pm

great thread

5*

Wink

by Irish Curry Tue 26 Jul 2011, 5:17 pm

Any chance this could be made a sticky? Might get more interest.

by robbo277 Wed 27 Jul 2011, 2:33 pm

27th July - 44 days before the World Cup
New Zealand have the highest points per game ratio in Rugby World Cup history, with an average of 44.6 points scored each game.
Stat provided by: leinsterbaby

All I had was that the World Cup was 44 days long!

by HammerofThunor Wed 27 Jul 2011, 2:40 pm

44.6 rounds to 45 Tumbleweed

by GunsGerms Wed 27 Jul 2011, 2:46 pm

Shush you weren't meant to notice!!

by robbo277 Wed 27 Jul 2011, 3:05 pm

HammerofThunor wrote:44.6 rounds to 45

New Zealand have scored 44 points per game (plus a few extra). They haven't scored 45 points per game. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Whistle

by TheGreyGhost Wed 27 Jul 2011, 3:28 pm

Although NZ did score 45 against England in the 1995 Qfinal.

by robbo277 Wed 27 Jul 2011, 3:31 pm

TheGreyGhost wrote:Although NZ did score 45 against England in the 1995 Qfinal.

Semi-final. If you're going to gloat, at least be accurate. thumbsup

by robbo277 Thu 28 Jul 2011, 3:26 pm

28th July - 43 days before the World Cup
In the 1999 Rugby World Cup Semi-Final, France played New Zealand in what has been dubbed the "Greatest Game in World Cup History", beating the All Blacks 43 - 31.

by GunsGerms Thu 28 Jul 2011, 3:32 pm

It was the greatest ever game. No question. Most entertaining match in any sport I've seen.

by TheGreyGhost Thu 28 Jul 2011, 3:33 pm

I would've gone with:

43 - The number of infringements the French team committed in the last 30 minutes of their 2007 RWC Quarter final against New Zealand without being penalised by Englishman Wayne Barnes.

by GunsGerms Thu 28 Jul 2011, 3:58 pm

TheGreyGhost wrote:I would've gone with:

43 - The number of infringements the French team committed in the last 30 minutes of their 2007 RWC Quarter final against New Zealand without being penalised by Englishman Wayne Barnes.

Or 43, the amount of drop goal chances the tactically inept ABs had to kill the game off.

by yappysnap Thu 28 Jul 2011, 4:12 pm

43- The number of death threats written in his own blood sent by TheGreyGhost to wayne Barnes, also interestingly the number of hours he spent in A&E due to blood loss.

by TheGreyGhost Thu 28 Jul 2011, 5:03 pm

43 - The IQ required to understand that if the referee fails to issue the penalties due to one team during an entire 40 minutes then it's likely to influence the outcome of the game.

by yappysnap Thu 28 Jul 2011, 5:10 pm

TheGreyGhost wrote:43 - The IQ required to understand that if the referee fails to issue the penalties due to one team during an entire 40 minutes then it's likely to influence the outcome of the game.

I thought Wayne Barnes had a stirling tournament and did everything we (the English) expected of him.

by TheGreyGhost Thu 28 Jul 2011, 5:13 pm

yappysnap wrote:
TheGreyGhost wrote:43 - The IQ required to understand that if the referee fails to issue the penalties due to one team during an entire 40 minutes then it's likely to influence the outcome of the game.

I thought Wayne Barnes had a stirling tournament and did everything we (the English) expected of him.

and did everything we (the English) expected of him

We agree, in the end.

by Taylorman Thu 28 Jul 2011, 6:48 pm

robbo277 wrote:Woohoo, I found a better 49 then the one I had (that was okay, but not technically about the number 49). So here it is:

22nd July - 49 days before the World Cup
The highest individual team score in a World Cup knock-out match was New Zealand 49 Vs 6 Wales in the 1987 Rugby World Cup semi-final.

Does anyone remember watching this match? (I don't, it was a year before I was born!) Was anyone there live? Just to complete the history lesson, New Zealand went on to win the Cup (against France in the final) while Wales bounced back to clinch third in a close game against Australia.

Remember that match well.
John Kirwan had to pull out a remarkable cover tackle to prevent Ieuan Evans scoring, one of the best tackles in test rugby Ive seen.

Never for get the Oz commentators- something like "the ballymore crowd is standing to its feet to a man, you will not see a better tackle in a month of Sundays' or something like that and whatever that means its always stuck with me since.

Check the tackle out on You tube. Yahoo

by robbo277 Thu 28 Jul 2011, 8:29 pm

Roughly when in the match was it? Can't find a specific video of the tackle, but the match is up on Youtube in several parts.

Don't remember watching the France/NZ '99 game. I was only 11 and back then I was more interested in playing than watching, which is why I can't testify for how great it was. Sounds pretty phenomenal though!

by TheGreyGhost Thu 28 Jul 2011, 9:09 pm

http://rugbydump.blogspot.com/2007/12/try-savers-rib-breakers-8-pain.html

1:25

by robbo277 Fri 29 Jul 2011, 10:35 am

29th July - 42 days before the World Cup
Scotland beat Romania 42 - 0 in 2007, becoming the first country to win-to-nil 3 times in World Cup history (a record since equalled by New Zealand, who coincidently beat Scotland 40-0 in the same competition, making Scotland the only country in World Cup history to win-to-nil and also lose-to-nil in World Cups).

by Rangiora Fri 29 Jul 2011, 11:08 am

robbo277 wrote:28th July - 43 days before the World Cup
In the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final, France played New Zealand in what has been dubbed the "Greatest Game in World Cup History", beating the All Blacks 43 - 31.

Semi Final Wink

by robbo277 Fri 29 Jul 2011, 11:21 am

Rangiora wrote:
robbo277 wrote:28th July - 43 days before the World Cup
In the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final, France played New Zealand in what has been dubbed the "Greatest Game in World Cup History", beating the All Blacks 43 - 31.

Semi Final

Taxi for Rob...

by TheGreyGhost Fri 29 Jul 2011, 12:53 pm

42 - The number of minutes of discretionary time that Jonthan Kaplan was prepared to add to any half of rugby until the score line looked the way he wanted before the advent of the stadium hooter.

by AsLongAsBut100ofUs Fri 29 Jul 2011, 12:58 pm

by GunsGerms Fri 29 Jul 2011, 1:51 pm

TheGreyGhost wrote:42 - The number of minutes of discretionary time that Jonthan Kaplan was prepared to add to any half of rugby until the score line looked the way he wanted before the advent of the stadium hooter.

Strangely that is also the same number of infringements Kaplan failed to spot when Wales' Mike Philips scored v Ireland in this years 6 nations.

by GunsGerms Tue 02 Aug 2011, 8:53 pm

What? No updates?

by TheGreyGhost Tue 02 Aug 2011, 10:12 pm

40 - the number of points conceded by the Springboks in a game which was both a RWC warm up and PDV's last match as Springbok coach.

by robbo277 Tue 02 Aug 2011, 10:15 pm

Sorry, I've changed laptops and the document was on my old one (which is very close to being euthanised) and I haven't transferred it over. I'll try and dig it out tonight, and maybe do a load en masse tomorrow. Ale

by TheGreyGhost Wed 03 Aug 2011, 9:22 am

Isn't that the exact same excuse PDV used for the selection debacle in NZ?

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