Ireland is resting a number of front-liners, so the headline gap in world rankings may be less relevant later today at Wembley (Ireland 5 vs Romania 17).
Ireland has a much smaller population than Romania, but almost 13 times the playing pool to draw on.
One unique feature: Romania has the highest proportion of arable land mass of any country in RWC 2015 (recall, in general, the close association historically between rugby and agriculture).
| Ireland | Romania | |
| GDP per Capita | 47539,40 | 5793,43 |
| Population (mms) | 6,28 | 20,15 |
| Arable land % | 15,42 | 39,08 |
| Registered players | 96880 | 7605 |
| World Ranking (pre-RWC 2015) | 6 | 17 |
| World Ranking (current) | 5 | 17 |
| Affiliated players / total population % | 1,54% | 0,04% |
| Sources: World Bank, World Rugby, own calculations | ||
| Note: GDP per capita shown in constant 2005 USD.
Population definition is geographic. |
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