All Black duo Jeff Wilson and Stephen Donald have argued that the standard of United Rugby Championship competition in now way measures up to that of Super Rugby Pacific.

The topic of the perceived gulf in quality between the two premier rugby competitions arose when Wilson and Donald discussed whether of not Jordie Barrett should start for the All Blacks following his six-month stint for Leinster.

Barrett joined the Irish powerhouse province late last year after a was granted a sabbatical by New Zealand Rugby and he has since starred as one of Leinster’s lynchpin’s in their quest for URC and Championship glory.

At the end of the European season, Barrett will return to New Zealand, where he is expected to start for the All Blacks at inside centre in their mid-year Test series against France.

But in a bizarre twist, Donald and Wilson have come out in favour of Barrett’s non-selection due to his participation in that they deem a lesser tournament (the URC), adding that those playing in New Zealand should get preference in July.

“The URC competition is probably a low, a very, very low level compared to Super Rugby, the Champions Cup stuff certainly would be [of the same level],” Donald on The Breakdown, the premier rugby talk show in New Zealand.

“Would I pick him in the squad? Yes, of course, he’s the vice-captain remember. Would I start him? Not necessarily, and nothing to do with his form, but more of a reward for the boys who have been in Super Rugby and played well all year.

“So Jordie yes, select him straight away, would I start him straight away in Test one against France? Possibly not.”

Wilson took his criticism of the situation a step further by remarking that Barrett is ‘underdone’ for the All Blacks’ international campaign because he allegedly played more golf during his stint in Ireland than rugby, saying he believes that the players playing Super Rugby in New Zealand will be better prepared for Test season than the Leinster superstar.

“You have to have a huge amount of trust if you’re the All Blacks coaches and selectors in players if you’re going to put them straight back into the international environment,” he said.

“The fact that you may have conversations with the player, you can look at as much footage as you like, but ultimately you don’t know what’s that compared to what’s happening right in front of you, players you’re seeing week in and week out,” the former All Black explained.

“But ultimately, the fact that guys are hardened having gone through a Super Rugby campaign, and they were to come off the back of what’s going to be a challenging playoff series.

“I look at this and think that he’ll have to come back and prove himself once again. He’s a player who would look at his 2024 and go I’d like to have a bigger impact on the All Blacks in 2025 than I did in that season.”

STATS DON’T BACK ALL BLACK DUO’S THEORY

But this superiority complex that is taking flight in the land of the long white cloud is unwarranted because it is not backed up by evidence or fact.

So just what does the evidence, facts and statistics say?

Well, since the inception of the United Rugby Championship in 2021 – when South Africa left Super Rugby – the All Blacks will all its homegrown and home-based players have played second fiddle to the likes of the Springboks and Ireland.

Over the past four years, the All Blacks had a 55% win rate against all URC nations (a decrease from before) with just 11 victories from 20 Tests.

But considering that the URC includes the likes of Scotland, Wales and Italy – who with all due respect should be classified as minnow nations at the moment – the biggest, most telling statistics are that of the All Blacks against their fiercest rivals in recent history, the Springboks and Ireland.

Since the foundation of the URC, the All Blacks have a 50% record (three wins from six games played) against the Irish and a meagre 29% win return against the Springboks (two wins from seven games played) in the Test arena.

The numbers, in fact, do not tell a tale of Super Rugby superiority, but rather of URC supremacy.

WHICH IS BETTER: UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP OR SUPER RUGBY?

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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/super-rugby/all-black-urc-is-a-very-low-level-compared-to-super-rugby/