The Rugby World Cup is in full-swing and many disgruntled football supporters in the Transfer Tavern have been looking at the tournament as an escape from their usual Saturday routine, as their respective clubs falter.
Whilst rugby and football fans here in the Tavern often clash over which sport is the best, there’s a lot of similarities between the two games. For one, both England teams build-up expectations and then flop on the big stage.
Rugby is one of the nations favourite past-times and many football supporters also follow a rugby club- particularly in the North of England, where things get a bit weird. (Rugby League and Rugby Union still confuses us).
The similarities between the two sports got us thinking though, which Rugby World Cup team would be who in the Premier League? We decided to find out- and our discoveries show that even an international team from a different sport shares similarities with Premier League sides.
Click on Manuel Pellegrini wincing at the thought of managing a rugby to see which FIVE Premier League teams would be who in the World Cup!
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New Zealand – Manchester City
The defending Rugby World Cup champions entered the tournament as favourites to retain their crown and got things off to a blistering start with comfortable victories over Argentina and Namibia. There’s plenty of games to be played yet- but the early signs are good.
That sounds exactly like Manchester City, who quickly asserted themselves as favourites for the Premier League title with a blistering start to the new campaign.
Like New Zealand, they achieved numerous comfortable victories and whilst their squad doesn’t do a scary haka before a game, they don’t really need to as the sights of Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne will spark fear into any side.
Australia – Manchester United
Australia are a side proud of their Rugby history and they’ve been extremely successful over the years. They’re contenders for World Cup glory but aren’t considered favourites- as they have to contend with local rivals for the trophy.
Of course, that’s Manchester United. With 13 Premier League titles the Red Devils are by far the most successful side in the competition’s history but things have changed in recent years, where they’ve slipped down the pecking order in the table.
Australia have had similar concerns but like United they are now fighting back and want to prove their doubters wrong with imminent success.
Japan – Leicester City
Japan shocked the world on the opening weekend of the Rugby World Cup with a thrilling victory over South Africa. The minnows were written off by many but have shown they are capable of success, although they struggled in their subsequent match against Scotland.
Leicester City have endured a similar start to the Premier League season as they went the opening six games undefeated, with results including memorable comebacks against Stoke City and Aston Villa. However, their charge was given a blow by Arsenal in the most recent weekend.
Japan and Leicester won’t be contenders for ultimate glory but could continue to cause upsets throughout their respective competitions, with both sides making it clear that they can compete with the best teams on their day.
England – Arsenal
Entering the tournament, on home soil, England were considered amongst the favourites for the trophy. However what followed was two embarrassing defeats that left the hosts on the brink of an early exit, with all to play for against Australia in their next fixture.
Swap England for Arsenal in the above paragraph and it perfectly describes the Gunners Premier League season. Losses to West Ham United and Chelsea raised serious questions about their title credentials, which now come down to a massive tie against Manchester United this weekend.
Should England and Arsenal both lose their next matches, then both side will no longer be considered amongst the contenders and the fans will be furious after their side failed to reach the high expectations placed upon them.
France – Liverpool
The French rugby team is considered amongst the best, as they’ve participated in every World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987. However, despite having three appearances in the final, Les Bleus are yet to win the trophy. Fans hope that this will change imminently.
If that sounds familiar to you, it’s because it also describes Liverpool. The Reds are right up there at the end of each campaign but have not lifted the Premier League title, with their last success in a domestic league coming in 1990.
Liverpool fans will hope this will change but the side consistently lets them down, getting close to achieving the dream but falling right at the last consistently. The French share extremely similar experiences.
