THE best league in Europe

Finally I've finished my work on developing a mathematical formula to determine the best league in Europe. It is user dependent to reflect the fact we may want different things from our league. Unfortunately it only applies to league that enter teams in the HEC (Sorry my SH brethren and that 'Japanese' WorldofPain guy).

So here we go (the best league for you is the one with the highest B-factor (besterestness)

B = (10 x ((H/(Y+1)) x (T^N) x (1/C) x Q + R))^X

Where

H = Number of HEC victories
Y = Seasons since the last HEC victory
T = Average number of tries per game
N = 0.5 if you prefer defence, 2.0 if you prefer attack, 1.0 is you value both evenly
C = Average winning margin
Q = Average ratio of 'local' players (for simplicity we'll say Qualified players for the controlling union, sorry Biltong ) [This is probably too complicated so we'll just assume that T14 = 0.5, Jeff = 0.65 and PRO12 = 1.00]
R = 0.5 if the league has relegation, -0.5 if you're a Mickey Mouse league
X = 10 if you support a team in the league, 2 if you're 'neutral' but you're favourite team is in the league, otherwise 0

I worked hard on that so it'll be interesting to see if you all agree (and what the answers are if you care enough to work it out).

NB If you don't agree you don't know anything about rugby....FACT

I couldn't be bothered figuring out some of your variables right now, like average tries per game. But I will tomorrow. Because I like maths.

T(T14) = 3.07
T(AP) = 3.70
T(PRO12) = 3.55

H(T14) = 5
H(AP) = 6
H(PRO12) = 6

Y(T14) = 2
Y(AP) = 5
Y(PRO12) = 0

C(T14) = I honestly can't be bothered
C(AP) = 9.7
C(PRO12) = 11.8

For me I get

AP = 6.3^X = 98493029.19
PRO12 = 4.9^X = 1

I was with you until the X, I'm beginning to doubt this is a serious proposal. I think the Y is too powerful, and R is not powerful enough. If I could suggest the following alterations:

B = (1+R) * (H/Y)^.5 * (T^N) * (1/C) * Q

Where N = 1 or 2 (no-one likes defence). I did my calculations assuming C(France) was 10, then I realised that there aren't enough French people on this board to make proving my league was better than theirs a worthwhile venture as a points scoring exercise, so I deleted their column from my excel spreadsheet.

All in all though, I feel this is more fairer/means the AP wins.

HammerofThunor wrote:Finally I've finished my work on developing a mathematical formula to determine the best league in Europe.

Surely there should be a "£" sign and the Euro included somewhere in your formula?

robbo277 wrote:I was with you until the X, I'm beginning to doubt this is a serious proposal.

The X is the most import factor

I prefer:

HC*(6/3)=1999+2006+2008+2009+2011+2012>(T14)OR(AP)

sour bitter grapes.

caoimhincentre wrote:sour bitter grapes.

Me? Why?

your just jealous of the amazing rabo

Jeff is the better league, Rabo has better teams. That's it.

Thomond wrote:Jeff is the better league, Rabo has better teams. That's it.

Can you back that up with an arbitrary equation though?

The number come out that I prefer the Jeff. I'd put money on the fact if you ran them it'll come out with the PRO12 as the 'best'. How is that bitter? Do you always jump to conclusions and then get angry, throwing insults around.

Robbo, it's not arbitrary though. It's a fundamental universal law.

the mighty rabo grooms great teams and great rugby. best league around

jeff=braindead boring impact rugby

caoimhincentre wrote:the mighty rabo grooms great teams and great rugby. best league around

jeff=braindead boring impact rugby

You left out a few clichés there.

Mornington Crescent

HammerofThunor wrote:The number come out that I prefer the Jeff. I'd put money on the fact if you ran them it'll come out with the PRO12 as the 'best'. How is that bitter? Do you always jump to conclusions and then get angry, throwing insults around.

Robbo, it's not arbitrary though. It's a fundamental universal law.

My mistake. Thomond, can you back your assertions up with fundamental universal law?

caoimhincentre wrote:the mighty rabo grooms great teams and great rugby. best league around

jeff=braindead boring impact rugby

So the answer is yes. Cheers

caoimhincentre wrote:sour bitter grapes.

You've got to love it when a poster doesn't quite get a thread

I got Championship Rugby...

Rabo is pretty poor for most of the season and only seems to pick up for the last quarter but the Jeff just bores me to death

An Anglo-Welsh league would be good.

The rabo has more internationals than any other league in the world.

the Rabo produced more recent grand slam and heinaken cup winners than any other nation.

Still a crap league though Alyn

The whole point is that the "best league" is inherently subjective and the formula takes this into account doesn't it?

AlynDavies wrote:The rabo has more internationals than any other league in the world.

the Rabo produced more recent grand slam and heinaken cup winners than any other nation.

Can't just ride on Leinster's recent record!

ChequeredJersey wrote:The whole point is that the "best league" is inherently subjective and the formula takes this into account doesn't it?

I wouldn't even bother trying to point this out Chequered. Some people are just beyond help unfortunately

ChequeredJersey wrote:

AlynDavies wrote:The rabo has more internationals than any other league in the world.

the Rabo produced more recent grand slam and heinaken cup winners than any other nation.

Can't just ride on Leinster's recent record!

And Munster's



It's not that hard lads, Rabo is an okay league but not great, sure the first choice 15s are out for a max of 7/8 times a year. The Jeff is more competitive, teams put out their best teams pretty much as often as possible. Hoever I think the best teams in the Jeff are not as good as their full strength Rabo counterparts i.e. I would say Leinster,Munster, Ulster and maybe the Ospreys are better than the top 4 English teams.

So in summary, Jeff is the better league. Rabo has better teams.

It's relative - in that each league and each fanbase wants different things from their individual leagues. It's also far too easy to compare and contrast the idea of 'competitveness' when really it's a very awkward thing to discuss when talking about different leagues. As I always say, school boy football or rugby is extremely competitive - the kids want it, their coaches want it, their parent's would kill for it............ but it's what it is. You can't throw the word 'quality' at 'competivness' so blindly - the two don't necessarily always go together. But often in these debates I have a feeling most observers tend to believe that one means the other.

So, is the AP more 'competitive' than the Pro12? I don't care about the answer to that, it's meaningless. The true question is where is the quality - I like the idea of quality because, like most supporters of rugby, I like the idea of winning. Winning dictates quality, and for now that tends to exist in the Pro12 league. So for now, I'm happy.
If and when English, Scottish, French or Welsh sides dominate HC for a few years, then I'll quite readily admit that I couldn't care less about the inner competitiveness of the Pro12 itself and I'd much prefer a return to quality for Irish sides and competing again for the title of Best in Europe