Does Argentina prove how biased the AI's are to the SH teams???

First topic message reminder :

I'm not saying it is, but a point brought up time and time again that the tri (RC) nations battle hardens the SH nations and the NH teams generally go into the AI's rusty first game up.

I recently spoke to a professional (not player) within the game who states that the weeks between RC and AI's act as a perfect training camp and far exceeds the club comps of the non competitive Rabo, or even the HC.

When asked about the 6N and summer tours he claims the months between tournament and summer tours, in which the players return to club act as a deterent to performance.

In his opinion the only games where each nation is on an even keel is 6N's RC and WC's but not for cross sectional hemisphere teams. So the only way teams are competing from north to south fairly is at a world cup.

Now don't get me wrong, these are not my own opinions, I agree with parts and disagree with others of his theory, it seems in part a bit whingy after saturday for me, but I can see a number of points he makes.

Maybe the answer is re jigging the int season, haing the 6N in the summer and a club and international season? Maybe there isn't a problem and it is just whinging?

I know the title will draw in the certain few but lets keep it facts and opinions, and try to discuss it logically.

thebluesmancometh wrote:Morg

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I honestly think the fact they have been together for a few months (minus the few weeks recently) is of far more importance to this result than the tournament they played in.

New Zealand were pretty good as well, but the time together didn't really help South Africa (OK, a win's a win, but they weren't great against a relatively depleted Ireland team) and particularly Australia. By comparison, France after only a couple of weeks together looked very fluent and England not too bad (allowing that we were against the weakest opposition).

I think it's difficult to generalise, but maybe for those teams that emerge from the RC with a reasonably fit squad there is a slight advantange in terms of togetherness and match sharpness at the start of the AIs compared with the NH teams. Of course, if you come out of the RC with a bruised and battered squad any gains in sharpness are more than offset by injury absences.

Of course, none of this really explains why the Welsh performance on Saturday was so ineffective - it wasn't so much that they lost but that they created so little in attack that should be the worry.

dummy_half, your last lines are what us Welsh have been mostly concerned about and it's what we have also discussed the most. Yet when we do we're accused of arrogance and showing disrespect.

Dummy_half, I think it is explained because that's how the players have been playing week in, week out for their regions. Except a few players like North, they've been playing very poor in the club game. Much harder to suddenly play well at the next level up when you've been playing poorly for a few months already.