gotta remember that Irish fans are not in agreement with most of the irish pundits who claim we're world beaters and #1. We love to speak positively about our team and are mostly just amazed at the skill and consistency we are able to maintain. Our rugby union is also not laser focused on WC wins. Its a business and winning 6 nations titles is our gig as it had the best ROI .

(Irish & Leinster fan) - South Africa are currently the best team in the world and have won the last two World Cups. Historically up to 2015, the NZ All Blacks have been the greatest team and most feared side in the World. From an Irish perspective, the last decade has seen a new historical development of Irish rugby on the back of the success of the provinces. For me, Ireland joined the top rugby performing countries (NZ & ZA) and started a new "era" of performance in the summer of 2022 after winning the series in New Zealand. I believe most Irish fans are (should) enjoying the new found performance success. Ireland will likely become six nations champions next w/e for the 4th time in a decade. Loosing to England by one point in Twickenham - I am over this. In fact, the reaction of the English players and fans to their victory showed me how far Ireland have come. I am now looking forward to the ZA summer series with confidence (not arrogance).

As an Irish fan, we definitely seem to lack something in the big moments but have improved enormously over the last 10 years. The future is bright. Ireland is without question top 4. A lot of new very young players recently so I’m amazed we’re doin so well this six nations tbh. The fact that Saffas are always criticising us means we must be doin something right 😅

We had four of the greatest quarter finals ever seen at the World Cup and three of the best six nation games this weekend. Rugby WC viewership is up 30% from 2015 WC. It has to be said .. maybe this "games boring .. need bums on seats" narrative pushed by NZ is just in their mind.

People tend to forget that South Africa rotates players during the 4 year cycle to give emerging players a chance to see if they will be able to make it to the world cup.. Look at the players in Rassies Springbok camp right now with no caps.

From an Irishman, Ireland can only call themselves #1 team in the world if they beat SA in the two test matches later this year. I do think Ireland had an off day against England at the weekend, I can't think of any standout performance from anyone in the green jersey which you can't have at this level of rugby. Saying that, hats off to England, they were the the best team on the night by a considerable margin. I do think this loss will benefit Ireland for the SA games 🇮🇪

Irelands biggest mistake during the world cup was to play the same players during every match. Their players had no rest during the pool stages. having no depth in their team is what cost them in the end.

Please, Breakdown crew, take notes on how to conduct an actual rugby show. JP, Bryn and Ross have clearly watched ALL the games and not just highlights, they’ve actually done analysis and have their notes with them on the games, they clearly pay attention to the rugby world and bring popular discussion topics on the show to discuss and most importantly they’ve spent the appropriate time and put the focus on the teams that’s have impressed. The breakdown team spent little to no time talking about the Reds after beating the out and out comp favourites, they spend no time talking about the 6nations and they don’t have any real game analysis to speak of. ARP along with Rugby Direct are so far ahead of the breakdown it’s embarrassing.

Much better show than the “Goldie” show

It's not even a discussion, they've never won a rugby world cup... let alone made it to a semi final. The best teams are South Africa and New Zealand.

Great comments. The difference between SA, NZ and Ireland is so small. To beat NZ in Auckland is so hard, beat SA in Pretoria is hard and beat Ireland at home is very hard. The World Cup victories for SA is 3 wins outside SA. Give them credit. But the top team week in and out? Very hard to call that one.

To all the bokke fans we need to foster and encourage this narrative as much as possible. The more out of the eyes we are the better,I think we all know how well it's been working to be written off as world champs.Lets keep it up till the next WC , Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie :)

Whatever way you look at it, this is what Rugby needs from a promotional aspect.....high level competition and the banter that surrounds it builds the brand

Both those Irish comments were said on podcasts where the Irish lads were winding up their English counterparts, the press took those comments and then spun them the opposite way. There is no Irish fan on this planet that believed we were going to hand England their backsides in Twickers.

The *TOP 5* ranked teams; SA, NZ, IRE, ENG, FRA, are all capable of causing an upset against the run of play on the day when it matters most. Teams like AUS, SCO WAL, FIJ are good, but currently lack BMT and cohesiveness. One can never say for sure who will win a RWC. *RWC27:* Expect AUS to fare better in, perhaps reaching a semi-final? IRE play excellent rugby in Australia, so they may reach a semi-final too.

The England D from the 'SA D was actually an Irishman who deserves some major credit here too.. Felix Jones... 2 WC with SA. Class!

Please refer to IRB rankings 😂

World Cups are the REAL test for who the best rugby nation is. Why? Firstly, you have to win all or most of your group games, without much pressure. The second "test" is to win knockout games, while preserving your best players. The pressure is much higher. The third test is to overcome fatigue and have the endurance to manage your energy levels as a team. That is managing mental and physical strength. The ultimate test comes during FINALS. This is where the pressure mounts the most. Who can rise to the occasion? Who is mentally the stronger? Who is the most experienced? Who has the most reserves in the tanks? Who has what it takes to win the big finals?

Bryn and James spot on as always.

Such a great show and very professional and expert input from you guys hence is why I love watching your show. I also think our Springboks are still the best and obviously hope we can keep proving this over the next few years but I cannot help being nervous on the what the All Blacks are going to bring with Razor now in charge and also exciting to see Australia pick themselves up as we can already see happening in Super Rugby. Interesting and entertaining times ahead!

If the world ends at the equator, yes.

If they knew what was good for them, the world's rugby content creators and pundits would keep calling Ireland the best team in the world purely to boost engagement from Bokke fans.

Great stuff, lads. Always fair and impartial analysis. Irish fan here.

I really Love,Enjoy and Respect the New Zealand Rugby Culture! Aotearoa and The Breakdown are very informative,subjective and knowledgeable programs! The rivalry between my Beloved Springboks and the All Blacks is undoubtedly the Greatest in World Rugby!

Ireland percentage is high because they are playing northern hemisphere teams all the time

P.S. Great to see we are still living rent free in your heads!☘

Great Rugby commentary. Am an Irishman and I respect the ABs and all the rugby new Zealand tallent even mention AB and Ireland in the same sentence is big. Just remember rugby is a 4th choice sport for Irish kids 1 Gaelic 2 Hurley 3Soccer 4 Rugby to have Ireland competitive as they are is great achievement. And Rugby is growing due to new Zealand coaching. Ireland are top team and can be the best on any given day.

People forget there’s 4 years between each world cup doesnt matter you cant just throw away the time between that and say the team that won the world cup will always be the best in the world 😂😂😂 if they don’t continue to perform after the world cup 😂😂😂😂

This is a brilliant show. Passionate and knowledgeable. From England, thank you. The Breakdown is a broken show.

Let's be honest, there is very little between NZ, IRE, SA. In 10 games between 2 sides, you'd think any team would win at least 4. Over 20 games+, I would back Springboks to win more due to their greater squad depth.

Great point about how tight it is in terms of %wins. I am Irish and agree SA are currently the top- They won the world cup and have not played since - No argument. 6 nations is always close and hard to get away wins.

There is a definite 'chemistry ' between teams which reflects both the relationship between the nations historically and the way their contrasting styles produce a particular kind of match when they play. That has to be factored in. But experience of winning the very biggest games on the world stage is also critical. South Africa must be number one for the confidence that they can do that now , New Zealand behind the Boks, England actually believe that they have a big game in them so it could happen, Ireland yet to add that to their mental armoury.

Great show Boys great insight

Love this Ireland NZ banter. Re the 6 Nations, I think France will shade it next weekend because England caught Irrland off guard a bit, France will benefit from seeing the Twickenham game. Ireland, despite the 1 point loss to England will win the Championship, with a massive score difference and a comfortable points margin.

Nobody knows who the best in the world is & it's a stupid question to ask at this time. Not all teams have played each other & some teams have new coaches & players that we haven't seen perform yet. Let's wait until we see a full calendar year before we start discussing this.

Until they win a WC it’s not even a question at this stage

SA are currently the worlds best team, as they are the recent World Champions. If they lose to Ireland in the summer test series, then maybe Ireland are the best team. NZ were the best team for years and couldn’t win a WC, remember? Irish rugby has changed dramatically over a ten year period and can now compete with everyone winning test series in NZ etc.. they will eventually break through the Quarter final in the WC. It was a tight game against NZ. Ireland just want to get better and it’s punditry saying they are the best team in the world, not the majority of fans and not the Irish team. You should give them a lot more credit with the small pool of players they have. They play well above their weight in this sport beating everyone over the last few years. If the sport grows in Ireland over the next 10 years, there will be a WC gold medal. Watch out 🏉🇮🇪😉

there is Ireland, Boks, ABs. Then there is England, France and Scotland. But I hope Razor is awake to how much Italy have improved, last test of the season. ABs play England twice, then the Boks twice, while the boks host Ireland twice During the AB England tests. Then there is Autumn series, still not clear if boks and Ireland meet again then. We get England, Ireland, France and an improved Italy. Going to be a lot of watchable tests. We really won't know it all until November. Razor will know his challenges by year end... I feel for England. They decided to throw a few passes and discovered they have skill and accuracy they might have never noticed had they continued with their kick it away at all costs credo which informs their DNA. They would have scored more in Smith were in at 10. George is programmed to catch then kick

Great to hear Kiwis praising our England team and 6 Nations in general. The days when you guys looked down on everything European are long gone.

I had a multi in the weekend missed out on one game ..took the Crusaders. I had a strong gut feeling on both the Reds and the Canes .

RWC quarter finals can be a bit tricky especially if you’re the world’s best rugby team.

James Parsons is a top-class pundit. And this is a world-class rugby show.

a knockout style tournament played once every four years is not a good yardstick for measuring who is the best and if you're only good once every 4 years but win nothing in between, you can't possibly be considered the best ir I think consistency of results and consistency of performance is probably the best measurement and using those metrics, All blacks and Ireland is undoubtably the best team in the world right now. Nothing can change my mind.

All of the top 4 teams are pretty equal. Talking about Ireland and World Cups is fair but why does no one talk about South Africa and the Rugby Championship. No doubt they're in that top 4 mix but its hard to call them the best when they only seem to show up for 7 weeks every four years.

Gidday lads, Love your show. I’d love to know your thoughts on a southern hemisphere team (equivalent to the British and Irish lions) consisting of the best players from the All Blacks, Springboks, Wallabies and Pumas. They could tour the northern hemisphere every few years and potentially even have a fixture against the lions? The viewership would surely be through the roof and it would be a great promotion for our game. Appreciate your insight and up the mighty canes!

silly to talk about zebo and heaslip who were the only pundits who suggested we should beat england decisively - and zebo was being mischievous (that's his personality) - most irish pundits were very wary and few supporters were really surprised that england played to their strengths on the day. Ireland is one of four teams at the top, each could beat the other. England isn't among them but will be if they keep playing like that. This was the first good game england has played for a good while.

Good comments. I just feel a lot of people should stop expecting everyone else to play like NZ. Each team has their strengths and they should play to them. It makes the sport that much more competitive. People are much more interested in a match when it's difficult to see who would win rather than how many tries are scored.

Ben Earl is shaping up to become one of the greatest back rowers of his time.

you are the best when you can absorb the most pressure and come out on top, much like south africa and new zealand.

To claim that nothing else matters but the RWC is nonsense. It is that reasoning that makes many, even those in the SH, believe that the SA back to back RWC wins in 2019 and 2023 are less impressive compared to the NZ back to back wins of 2011 and 2015. NZ maintained their high standards between their RWC wins and were virtually unbeatable compared to SA who were mediocre between their RWC wins. Besides as I wrote earlier if nothing else matters but the RWC, then it should not be surprising if fans do not want to see games between RWCs because they are being told they are irrelevant. It should therefore not surprise people that SA is suffering financially and are in negotiations with ASG for money to save the union.

It's amazing the difference a game makes. At 19 minutes he says he admires the intent from England. That has been completely lacking for a long time now, they were playing a terrible brand of rugby. They played amazing against Ireland but I don't expect to see it replicated again this weekend. It was emotionally driven when their backs were against the wall and I don't think they'll be able to get back to that this weekend

It's only the press who have been saying that about Ireland most fans are more reserved

Thanks team, appreciate the answer! Agree around the bench with your comments, being a blues fan I'd hate to lose reiko as well I just think eventually we are going to lose younger and younger talent to Japan and Europe if we can't grow the income of super rugby

As a nuetral I'm really looking forward to the Ireland tests in SA. I epxect SA are going to be really up for this on their home soil. SA won the WC and are the current best team in the world. All you can say IMO outside of that is how many games are won and how consistent/inconsistent other teams are.

As someone of French origin who has lived in England for years, I think winning when it really matters is the ultimate test. Obviously, I was devastated by France's performance in the World Cup, and if things had gone their way they might have done better, but they didn't, and that's what matters. And Ireland have shown they can beat anyone on their day, multiple times, but they didn't do it in the WC. So I think you have to say South Africa deserve to be world champions, but would I bet my life savings that they would beat Ireland if they played next week? No, I wouldn't be that certain. Ireland are still a very tricky team to beat, and anyone who takes them lightly could look silly.

For me, I think it is illogical for anyone to argue it is better to perform once every four years for the RWC and it is the main reason why TRC teams are financially worse compared to 6Ns teams. Why should a SH fan pay to watch a game in TRC when they are told the games are irrelevant and all that matters is the RWC. All the same, best of luck to your team.

I find this whole thing a bit pointless. Is it by rankings? By WC winners. By recent form? Same problem in cricket, my other sport. Of course we can express our subjective views. But the fact that Ireland have never won a WC is meaningless. I’m an 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 fan. A year ago it looked like either 🇫🇷 or 🇮🇪 were WC2023 favourites. England went further because they had an easier group and Q/F. Ireland are in with a shout no matter how you slice the pie, whereas France are not.

As a S African I can handle the idea of Ireland being No 1, not cos of highest win percentage, but cos of beating NZ in NZ. Talk about achieving the impossible, that is basically the rarest thing in rugby. I think it’s perfect that Ireland tour SA now - if they beat us at home then they deserve No 1 status.

This discussion is a bit like the Olympic champion or World record holder, Most would chose an Olympic gold medal that can’t be taken away from you..

Scotland also need to beat Ireland by 35+ points along with denying Ireland a BP and scoring one themselves. Also needs to be remembered that Scotland have the triple crown to play for so even if the 6N is unlikely they'd still have something else to play for.

The 2 best teams in the world played the WC final...simple as 💯

South Africa,NZ and Fiji top 3 in the world 🌎 👌 😎

No one from Ireland has ever mentioned the Irish team as being the best in the world, ever. We're not even no. 1 in the world rankings, which no one cares about anyway. And even when we were no.1 in the rankings, everyone knows that the world cup is the only true watermark. We're proud of the team, they play great rugby, and on their day, they can compete with the best, but when it comes to the world cup, we know who the top dogs are.

SA definitely the best - if Irl played them at the Aviva this weekend I would have SA as favourites. Irl would be happy with one of the two tests in SA. There is no argument on this in Irl unless you are Jamie Heaslip but he doesn't seem to have a clue.

Winning the big games when it matters is the most important yardstick. Ireland are a fine side, and habe been excellent overall for a long time, especially under Farrell. But the truth is we tend to buckle when the chips are truly down, unfortunately. When there is something massive on the line, we display a different sort of consistency. Ireland are getting closer in those tight, one-off fixtures that can lead to singular glory (getting to a WC semi/achieving back to back Slams), but we haven't done enough to deserve Best-In-Class status. England were great but, based on form, this is a massive missed opportunity and a bit of a rude-awakening.

Don't think we were ever the best maybe one of 4 very good teams. Will be interesting to see if the next group of Irish players can kick on and go one better than the Sexton/ O'Mahony era team

In your head...in your head...Rasie ! Rasie! RAS SIE SIE SIE.

But who do Ireland play most in between World Cups? And who do South Africa play most in between World Cups? And who were the finalists in the World Cup? That should tell you everything..Ireland need to join the Southern Hemishpere then we will see if they are still as consistent. Personally i think that 79% will go down to 60% or less...And they will be less impactful at World Cups because of the scheduling down south, and the intensity and pace of games down south..There is a lot of factors to consider

England dominated SA at the WC semi final, SA found a way to get in front, leaving England a few minutes with possession of the ball to get a penalty or DG. SA held them back. England dominated Ireland on Saturday, Ireland found a way to get in front and were in possession with 90 seconds on the clock, they gave the ball to England and they got the DG. Ireland can go multi phase at the end of the game, i don't think a McCaw team would hand the ball to the opposition with 90 seconds left. So currently SA are the best, The QF exit was unfortunate, but Saturdays loss was just soft.

There is no debate. Ireland can’t win a quarter-final. The great teams win during the four year cycle and at the World Cup. If you are the best, surely you can win one knockout game.

International Rugby Union is in a good place for the moment but I honestly don’t know how the first class club teams in the UK manage financially

Breakdown. These are people that give insight on the facts on the table. Not blowing their own ego’s the whole time. John Kirwan can be glad he never faced Ray Mordt. That would have quite him down and made him less arrogant.

Thank you James Parsens

I think South Africa would have something to say about that

Winning percentage is also not a great indicator because of the quality of opposition. England, Scotland Wales and Italy have been really inconsistent and then performed sub par over long periods which gave Ireland an easier season than New Zealand and SA who play each other twice on top of Australia, who are SA's bogey team. The Rugby Championship is a far harder comp to win.

2:25 How would you figure out who is the best? How about we organize a competition where the best teams compete. Let's organize it every 4 years. Maybe in between, we could even do a series where the best of the Northern hemisphere go to one of the SH countries? That surely would give an indication of who's the best, wouldnt it?

South African here, just exposing my agenda 😄; but if the World Cup doesn't crown the best team, whats the point of the competition?

I guess its how you look at it over the past couple of seasons. Ireland won on New Zealand soil last year and were ranked No 1 going into the world cup, and they were still the only team to beat SA in the world cup. Ireland won a Grand-slam last year, and this year beat France in France and then lost to England in the weekend Of course SA went onto win the world cup, despite losing to the ABS during the early part of last year, but probably rightly deserve the crown at the moment, but have not played anyone this season. Its very close as New Zealand also beat Ireland when it mattered most and ran the Boks close in the WC final with 14 men. I think a lot will depend on the end of the season tours. I think that if Ireland can win in SA then depending on what NZ do then we will know a lot more. A long way of saying not much between Ireland, SA and NZ at the moment with France just missing a few key players, one in particular Dupont..

The 6 nations is just mostly average teams playing against really crappy teams.

Irishman here, no one here is saying we're the best, we're one of the best.

RWC quarterfinal quality 👊 period

We have had to listen to some rubbish from the Irish pundits recently and I couldn't agree more with the comments that #1 team is the one that wins the RWC. The years in-between RWCs are for growth, experimentation etc . . . but the holy grail is to win the RWC. In our neck of the woods winning the 6N will always be critical to the national teams but man what I would give to get that RWC final win!

The RWC mattersmore to SH teams than to NH teams. Ask yourself, Which is better? Performing once every four years, or consistently year in, year out? If a team cannot perform regularly, there has to be a huge asterisk on whether that team is great or not regardless on how often they have won a World Cup. For instance, a team may get a favourable route to the World Cup, but in the Six Nations, it is dog eat dog with six tier 1 teams in a fight to get one over the other and top the pile. For any team to do this consistently year in , year out, and to carry that same performance into their June and November tests with the opposite hemisphere nations, again year in year out, that is what i would define as greatness.

SA not having beaten Ireland since 2016 really does make it hard to say the are undisputably the best. Let's see who wins this summer Also, winning the three WC knockout games by the slimmest possible margins makes that a little less convincing than if they had smashed the other teams. One more penalty to any of those opponents in any of those games and they would not have won the WC. They won it by the skin of their teeth.

Scotland need a bonus point win and to beat Ireland by 77points to win the championship. Ireland have 76point point difference to the next closest.

World Cup are once every four years. Teams can’t go on holiday for next four years. Every year matters.A good test series sorts out who is the best. All Blacks would beat the Springboks in a test series. Especially with 15 players vs 15 players.But we need to sort out the TMO first. We want a fair game and level playing field.

ireland are a good and consistent team, but 17 players from 1 team gives you that! so best NO perhaps most consistent which givesw you that good results leinster have a new coach, would have been good to see ireland vs france last round for this year and last year!

The word cup only happens every 4 years. So if a team wins the World Cup they are undoubtedly the best in the world. But World Cup winning teams can then go on to lose matches and play poorly and have a few years of ups and downs. Does that still mean they're the best in the world? Probably not. IMO other matches between World Cups do count. SA are the best in the world right now. But over the coming years who will they have beaten and lost against? Ireland are undoubtedly a world class team and although they lost at the weekend they barely attacked and still very nearly won. However Ireland need to get to a world cup semi final or further to I suppose be seen as one of the real greats.

Swap Ross with Kirstie, add Mills and this is the formula

It’s not all or nothing for Scotland tho. A normal win and they’ll win the triple crown (beat all home nations)

Italy ever improving. Could it be because they play SA sides week in and week out in the URC

The worlds best team needs to be consistent an lose rarely! I wonder who that is so far?🤔

England were great though at the weekend. Genge should have been sent off for a no arms head contact on Furlong who had to go off.. We didn't even get a peno.. But hey.. Home town TMO etc.. We were nervous though. Always at Twickers.. don't know why.. they won't be allowed to be next time. We shouldnt have don th 6:2 either... when we lost Nash he was on the ground when Eng got the first try..we were unlucky with that too.. Nothing in it.. We'd beat them 4 times out of 5 I'd say but well done England.

Is Robb Penny the new Todd Blackadder?. if the Crusaders season end in disaster do they cut there losses and bring in someone else?

They are a team near the top.

Ireland is very competitive outside the "big" games as their national team plays together every weekend...when the big games come the big nations NZ, SA and England have built some continuity and the talent pool is telling. France is utterly disappointing actually, considering they are a vastly bigger rugby nation than Ireland. Ireland deserves credit for fixing and developing Irish rugby, but they are certainly not the best in the World.

The RWC was a stitch up and we all know it. Yes we had our chances but that TMO interjection was outrageous. Missed a while heap from SA.

If James Lowe hadn't missed his touch finders, Ireland would be Grand Slam winners again.

Irish fan here....Its clear now Ireland has a problem with its mentality for very big games when they are favourites.

I'm English and there's no debate, SA beat 5/6 of the other top 7(incl themselves) and have won two world cups either side of a lions tour win. Ireland are a very good team, SA are the current best, France are inconsistent, NZ and England are rebuilding.