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Heaviest players at 2019 Rugby World Cup revealed
By Online Editors
When it comes to tipping the scales, no one in World Rugby comes close to Ben Tameifuna.
The Tongan tighthead prop, known for his barnstorming runs and back-breaking tackles, listed a whopping 153kg playing weight in the Rugby World Cup statistics.
Some distance behind Tameifuna in second was former Sacred Heart College student and current Wallabies prop, Taniela "Tongan Thor" Tupou at 135kg.
And while Tonga was still searching for its first 2019 Rugby World Cup win, they could take pride in two other victories.
The small island nation, ranked 16th in the world, boasts the heaviest player and heaviest forward pack at the World Cup.
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The average weight for a member in Tonga's forward pack was 118.53kg, according to Weight Watchers Australia which crunched the numbers.
Uruguay had the lightest World Cup forward pack, who were on average 13kg lighter than the Tongan's at 104.81kg.
New Zealand's average was 113.76kg and the overall World Cup average forward weighing 112kg.
The body mass index for many of the forwards in Japan would be considered unhealthy, according to body mass index calculations.
However, BMI's weren't always accurate when it came to professional athletes.
It didn't distinguish between fat and muscle, so those with large muscle masses often had high BMI, even though their body fat was in the healthy range.
Those with weight around their waist and healthy BMIs at the highest risk of death from any cause, compared to those with higher BMIs and weight elsewhere.
"If I had to choose between making sure my BMI or my waist-to-hip ratio are within the 'normal' range, I would go for the latter," University of Sydney associate professor Emmanuel Stamatkis said.
"A high waist-to-hip ratio most likely means high amounts of abdominal fat, and we know this comes with quite serious health risks."
New Zealand's heaviest player was Ofa Tu'ungafasi at 129kg, closely followed by Atu Moli at 127kg and Angus Ta'avo at 124kg.
Ardie Savea punches well above his weight of 95kg, the lightest member of New Zealand's forward pack and the only one under 100kg.
But the lightest forward in the competition was Kwagga Smith, from South Africa, who weighed a relatively small 80kg.
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and was republished with permission.
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Latest Comments
No. We will have a winger playing winger. Just because Reece underwhelms at AB level against the top sides doesnt mean 1. we dont have serious specialist wings in NZ that deserve to be there as his replacement..and 2. that we bung a 15 in Jordan there again. 4. DMac will be 10. 5. Love will be on the bench.
Go to commentsIt really all depends of how much overseas players would be paid (by NZR) to play for the All Blacks. I’ve not heard a peep on this front from any author suggesting it’s a good idea.
If it’s nothing (a player gets his weekly paycheck from the club and thats it (which we know is definitely not the case in Ireland and France, or SA even I think?), then maybe it would retain more SR level players given that they’ll be getting the “AB” component (which is about where things stand, Burke for instance would have had to had his Sader contract upgraded to an AB one (think above Pero levels) to be on similar money.
I’d having to imagine if a player is getting paid to do nothing over the international windows though, they are going to want to get paid extra for appear for the ABs, so in this situation, it’s hard to see many players being retained, yes.
I’m pretty sure they flew to Japan and met in person.
I’ve heard/had these discussions numerous times. I don’t think theres anyway to judge the interest that would be retain in SR. For one, it might be a more entertaining league as a result, as the JRLO is compared to Europe, despite it obviously being a lesser standard.
If SRP is of a lesser standard and now able to use Japanese and American players to bolster teams, perhaps those markets more than make up for the downturn in NZ and Aus? Perhaps it gives NZR flexibility to create a more fit for purpose interdomestic competition, and interest actually increases? All you might need is a proper pathway from school to pro?
Razor asked NZR to keep an open mind. Did NZR answer any of these questions to themself?
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