Ranking World Rugby's Elite Sides on Their Pack Strength

Last year's Rugby World Cup gave us a firm understanding of who currently rules the roost among the sport's elite, with New Zealand crowned victors for boasting the best squad overall, and deservedly so.

However, there are other powers among the cream of rugby's crop that could lay claim to boasting the finest pack on the planet, especially after veterans such as Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu and Tony Woodcock were waved through the retirement doors.

In this discussion, we're ranking rugby's true elite, meaning that while Georgia's forward-oriented team may carry a strong pack, they don't quite reach the standard to make our top five.

Last week, we ranked the Six Nations teams on the strength of their forwards. Read on to see who topped the pile as we order the rugby world's elite based on their packs, assuming each team is equipped with a fully fit squad.

Argentina

With the newly established Jaguares now competing in Super Rugby, the future looks bright for Argentina's national team, especially with so many big prospects currently milling through their ranks.

Players like locks Tomas Lavanini, 23, and Guido Petti, 22, back-rowers Pablo Matera and Facundo Isa—both 22—along with with front-rowers Julian Montoya and Lucas Noguera Paz—both 22—have big things ahead.

However, Argentina's issue at present is a lack of experienced, prime players, with Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Juan Manuel Leguizamon and Agustin Creevy among the few rare exceptions in their pack.

Ireland

The Six Nations could well have painted a different picture had Ireland been able to call upon Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony and Iain Henderson throughout, not to mention it being their first tournament without Paul O'Connell.

The retirement of their former captain may not be a major concern in terms of talent, with Henderson stepping in when fit, but O'Connell's absence means Ireland have lost a presence that at times seemed superhuman.

New captain Rory Best is doing his utmost to fill that void, but it may be the impossible task. The squad is packed with talent as the likes of O'Brien, O'Mahony, CJ Stander, Cian Healy, Henderson and Jamie Heaslip can all show, but leadership looks to be what the front eight are missing most of all.

New South Africa head coach Allister Coetzee comes into the position hoping he can reshape the Springboks back into world-beaters, and this nation has a particular sense of pride when it comes to their forwards.

The issue for Coetzee in planning for the next World Cup is timing. Of the 17 forwards who were named in South Africa's World Cup squad last year, just four of those were aged between 25 and 29, the ideal window in which he'd like to see players developing in time for Japan 2019.

In contrast, nine were aged 30 or over, with Victor Matfield, 38, and Schalk Burger, 33, taking their leave of the national team and creating two giant holes for the new generation to try to fill.

The Springboks have traditionally been regarded as some of the best scrummagers in the sport, but we witnessed them get bullied off the ball by a well-structured Japan team last year during that historic 34-32 upset in Brighton during the Rugby World Cup.

South Africa's overseas policy will allow them to keep the likes of Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis (Montpellier), Duane Vermeulen (Toulon), Willem Alberts (Stade Francais) and Francois Louw (Bath) among their ranks, but more talent is needed in the native pool.

Some of those aforementioned stars may not even make it to the next World Cup, meaning the new dynasty, the likes of Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager, carry a burden that may be too great for them to bear.

Wales coach Warren Gatland can afford to look upon his current forward resources with a sense of glee ahead of this summer's tour to New Zealand, albeit with improvements still to be made.

England were the only team who could consistently front up to the Welsh during this year's Six Nations, which highlighted the wealth of quality players nearing their prime currently under Gatland's command.

The Welsh back row can contend with just about any in the world on its day, with flankers Dan Lydiate and Justin Tipuric exchanging time on the bench while captain Sam Warburton and No. 8 superstar Taulupe Faletau gleamed.

Alun Wyn Jones, Luke Charteris and Bradley Davies each provide very capable presences in the second row, but Wales' main concern may be which props partner emerging hooker star Scott Baldwin in the short term.

All-time Wales cap record-holder Gethin Jenkins, 35, is still bringing knowledge to the table, but Samson Lee, Tomas Francis, 23, and Rob Evans, 24, are each just ever so slightly green in the experience stakes.

One of the stories of the World Cup was seeing how ex-Argentina hooker Mario Ledesma transformed the Australia pack from a team weakness into arguably its greatest weapon.

The other undeniable theme around the Wallabies' forwards was the revival of David Pocock, who enjoyed a major international tournament without injury or incident, much to the fans' enjoyment.

It would be folly to pretend Pocock wasn't the heart of Australia's front eight throughout, but just as Italy rely on Sergio Parisse for inspiration, they did the same with their Brumbies talisman.

There's further quality abound, though, with Michael Hooper impressing once again, Kane Douglas and Dean Mumm back in the international fold, while Scott Sio proved his worth as an elite prop figure.

Head coach Michael Cheika may be looking at a different situation now, with Australia's Super Rugby teams a great distance off their New Zealand counterparts this season, but the Wallabies may still run rampant when banded together.

England's Grand Slam triumph served as a message to the rest of the world; a sleeping giant has woken, and perhaps the biggest evident changes have come about in the forwards.

For the most part, England's back line was close to what it was at the World Cup, but the pack was a more terrifying beast, thanks largely to the revolutionary progress of George Kruis and Maro Itoje at lock.

They performed all their second-row duties with aplomb while effectively functioning as auxiliary flankers for the most part, particularly in the case of Itoje, who regularly features at blindside for Saracens.

Combined with the predictably dominant form of Billy Vunipola, the newly established flank partnership of James Haskell and Chris Robshaw, not to mention the reappointment of Dylan Hartley as captain, the Red Rose blossomed.

The bench talent is equally scary. Locks Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes can barely get a look in, while European Player of the Year nominee Jack Clifford, 23, Matt Kvesic, 24, and Dave Ewers, 25, should grow into the team this year.

Even with the aforementioned trio of McCaw, Mealamu and Woodcock out the exit door, New Zealand still reign supreme in the forward ranks, ready to usher in a new era of up-and-coming world-beaters.

That's not to say flanker Sam Cane, hooker Dane Coles and prop Joe Moody can be instant or equal replacements for those respective figures, but the All Blacks could certainly do worse.

Meanwhile, coach Steve Hansen can look upon a thriving  collection of stars currently in or reaching their playing primes, including Kieran Read, 30, Victor Vito, 29, Coles, 29, and Sam Whitelock, 27, just to name a few.

While England have Kruis and Itoje coming through, the aforementioned Whitelock has already been playing alongside 2014 World Rugby Player of the Year Brodie Retallick for several years now, and their bond is steadfast.

Hansen has been smart in handling the outflow of senior veterans over the past year, sprinkling experience upon some of his emerging figures in a bid to see who will eventually replace them.

The result is that this transitional period may not even be great enough to call a "period" at all, due mainly to the fact it may have come and gone without many even noticing.