Which City Has Produced the Most Rugby World Cup Stars?

Rugby has become a truly global sport, and nothing showcases that more than the Rugby World Cup; however, when we localise the rugby landscape to a city-by-city perspective, which city has produced the most World Cup stars?

According to results collected from data from nearly 3,000 players who participated in the Rugby Championship or the Rugby World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1987, we can see which city has produced the most professional rugby players around the world.

If data from World Cup and Championship are combined: Auckland, New Zealand has produced the most professional rugby players – 118. Buenos Aires, Argentina is in second place with 88 professional rugby players bring born there. Sydney, Australia is third, having produced 58 professional rugby players.

When considering countries, the United Kingdom has produced the most players – 473 – and New Zealand (369) and South Africa (253) are in second and third place, respectively. If looking only at players who were part of the winning teams in their respective tournaments Auckland, NZ has produced the most overall winners – 23, with Christchurch, NZ (13) & Brisbane, Australia (10) in second and third place, respectively.

When purely looking at which city has produced the most players who have gone on the win the Rugby World Cup, once again, New Zealand’s Auckland capital is ground zero for a number of Webb Ellis trophy holders. Johannesburg, South Africa comes in at number 4 with 6 players.

You can check out the full analysis here.

Image source: Facebook / Siya Kolisi