WHEN IS A TEST MATCH NOT A TEST MATCH

WHEN IS A TEST MATCH NOT A TEST MATCH? RUGINT LOOKS INTO THE MURKY SIDE OF INTERNATIONAL TEST RUGBY (08.07)

So when is a test match not a test match? Mostly, when you are playing a national side that is not their first team.

Recent IRB sponsored tournaments have again thrown confusion over when matches are test matches or not. There does not appear to be any official IRB ruling over such fixtures, it seems that it is left up to the individual countries concerned. Because there is nothing official that I can find from the IRB the question as to whether a match is a test match or not is left to individuals in the 'find out as we go' principle.

Because I keep the stats records of test matches around the world, because I try to make up a match data sheet for each test match played and because I have records of each individual nations' yearly record (not published on my web site) the sorting out of what is and what is not a test match becomes vital.

Having been 30 minutes into assembling the data for the Italy 'A' v Russia match I discovered, by accident, that the IRB have not classified this match as a test match. I only found this out using the data (well done IRB) from the match stats for this game on their web site. New caps like Sorokin were attributed with playing 3 games for Russia at the IRB tournament but if you look carefully at his complete record of tests for Russia you see that his tally is only two. (you do have to look carefully!)

I checked with other new caps for Russia and this became consistent. It was also consistent for the Georgians and the Romanians. Uruguay didn't play either Italy 'A' nor the Emerging Springbox so their players all received up to 3 test caps during the tournament.

If I was a Romanian playing in that final in Bucharest I may have been a little peeved to find out that "sorry old chap, but this game does not count!". I might be well off the beam but I wonder?
This problem of inconsistency and, in my opinion, sheer lack of reality, was also apparent in the Churchill Cup and recently completed Pacific Nations tournaments.

Here is a run down.

Churchill Cup
1) It looks like the only official test match played was the USA v Canada match for, oh yaah, 5th/6th place.
2) The USA web site, however, has given 'test' caps to its players for games against England Saxons and Ireland 'A'. The Canadian web site only awarded test matches for USA v Canada.
3) However the USA web site's report on the USA v Canada match billed it as 'The only official test match of the tournament'.
4) I can fully understand that the England Saxons v Scotland 'A' game could never be a test match, despite it being the final.

Pacific Nations Cup
Now here the wheels are well and truly off the system.
1) Samoa and Tonga have traditionally only awarded test caps for those games against first XV national teams. So a World Cup qualifier against say Cook Islands won 120-0 (it hasn't happened, just as an example) gives you a test cap (and the side you are in may not contain any overseas-based players making it virtually a 2nd XV anyway).
2) but games by Samoa or Tonga v say Junior All Blacks (who won the tournament in 2007) or NZ Maori (who won the darn thing in 2008) do not count as a test match even though you have your best available side which includes overseas-based players. Now again if I was a Tongan travelling in from my London Club of say London Welsh and only get to play the 'lowly' NZ Maori when I get back home, I might also be a little peeved that my troubles did not earn me a 'test' cap. Especially if it happened to be the final (which it wasn't-just making the point)
3) Again I can fully agree that a NZ Maori v Australia 'A' (which was the final!) can not be regarded as a test match.
4) Games by Samoa and Tonga v NZ Maoris or Australia 'A' are probably (but no official records available by either South Seas Nation) regarded as 'other games' in which you represent your country but again "sorry old chap, but not a test match so it don't count"
5) Fiji have gone even more barmy. According to their new web site, which operates a fairly good data base, they awarded test caps for v NZ Maori but not against Australia 'A'. Now work that one out. Otherwise same rules apply as per Tonga and Samoa.
6) The only nation with any sense out of them all from IRB Nations through to Pacific Nations is JAPAN. Take a bow Japan. You awarded test caps for all fixtures against other teams both in the Asia5Nations and the Pacific Nations including the bone crunching 22-65 loss to the NZ Maori in Napier.

I will have to rethink now which matches I will do a match data sheet for. Sorry Georgia, Romania, Russia, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. You get less space on my web site as I will have to delete some of your recent games. The only up side to all this is, I am so far behind on my match data sheets I may have a smidgingly slim chance now of catching up.

PS-The car accident last week, although it wrote my car off and very nearly me, has given me a few days to try and catch up. Pity, though, I wasted 30 minutes on the Russia v Italy 'A' sheet which now looks like it’s in the bin.

Cheers

A battered, bruised but still in one piece
RugInt.

Updates on the above article.

09.07.2008 - Both Georgia and Romania have awarded test caps for their games against ‘A’ teams at the IRB Nations Tournament. Russia’s position is still unclear.