Stephen Donald has revealed that South Africa, New Zealand and France will go into the upcoming end-of-year Tests as the three leading sides in international rugby.
According to World Rugby’s official rankings, the current World Cup and Rugby Championship winners South Africa are the top ranked team in the global game with the All Blacks occupying second position, while Ireland are third and Six Nations champions France sit fourth.
During the Rugby Championship, the Springboks dropped down to third place after they lost their tournament opener against Australia in Johannesburg with the All Blacks shifting up to top spot after beating Argentina in Cordoba while Ireland moved into second place despite not playing that weekend.
The All Blacks consolidated their position at the top of the rankings when they beat the Boks at Eden Park in Auckland earlier this year but a week later Rassie Erasmus’ troops met Scott Robertson’s charges at Sky Stadium in Wellington and handed their arch rivals their heaviest ever defeat at Test level which resulted in the world champions returning to the summit while the men in black dropped to third place.
South Africa and New Zealand finished their Rugby Championship campaigns with back-to-back victories over Argentina and Australia respectively which resulted in the Boks ending that tournament firmly entrenched in pole position in the rankings while the All Blacks moved above Ireland into second position.
However, ahead of Saturday’s eagerly anticipated Test between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Donald feels Andy Farrell’s charges are not amongst the top three teams in the international arena.
While appearing on The Aftermatch with Kirst & Beav, Donald was asked by the show’s host Kirstie Stanway where the power of rugby lies ahead of the Autumn Nations Series and replied: “You’ve got the Boks and the All Blacks, who I think are out there, if not in the top two, they’re in the top three together.
‘And then I think there’s just a little bit of a gap’
“And then there’s France. And then I think there’s just a little bit of a gap.
“Not a huge gap, but there is a gap.”
Donald admitted that he could be left with egg on his face after this weekend’s encounter between the All Blacks and Ireland but stuck to his guns and reiterated that he feels South Africa, New Zealand and France are the three leading Test nations.
“This might not age well,” he said. “This comment could last all of five days. But at the moment, I think there’s a top three.
“And then there’s just a little bit of, let’s just say, the width of a ruler for those who are still using the pen and ruler to underline their schoolwork.
“And then I think we’ve got a couple of teams.”
Although the All Blacks have won their last two Tests against Ireland – at the Aviva Stadium last year and their 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final in France – the men from the Emerald Isle have held their own in this fixture in recent years as both sides have won five times each in the last 10 matches between the nations.
Ireland will also have some confidence in their ranks as they beat the All Blacks for the first time in their history in 2016, when the sides met at the same venue as this weekend’s clash, at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Donald identified Ireland’s New Zealand-born scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park as the player who will be the biggest threat to the All Blacks on Saturday, while he is also wary of the men in green’s forward play.
‘One of our finest exports’
“It’s one of our finest exports and one of the greatest rugby stories of probably the last decade. And Jamison Gibson-Park, who left New Zealand as a bit part Super Rugby player and is now arguably the premier half-back in world rugby,” he said.
“And that’s not a massive statement that a lot of people would argue with.
“Yes, you’ve got (Antoine) Dupont, you’ve got the fast coming (Cameron) Roigard, but Jamison Gibson-Park, in fairness, has to be in the conversation.
“And especially without Johnny Sexton, I think his importance even goes higher now and his responsibilities go higher. We saw how critical and important he was in that (British & Irish) Lions series (against Australia).
“If he’s not in that Lions series, I don’t know if they get the job done. He is that important there. He played massive minutes in those Test matches.
“I mean, I can’t remember correctly, but I think in some games in that Test series, I don’t know if they even brought him off, which these days for a halfback is unheard of.
“So he’s so crucial for them. But the other big thing for the All Blacks to try and disrupt (is) what you would call as a machine-like performance from the Irish is you’ve got to somehow disrupt their set-piece.
“So if you can disrupt their set-piece, that disrupts their first ruck. If you make your first ruck either non-existent or slow, then you can disrupt their game. But that’s the big but.
“You have to be able to disrupt their set-piece.”