Analysis of all 20 of the Rugby World Cup squads has revealed that the All Blacks have by far the most experience, with the squad combining for 1,484 test caps - 187 more than the next best test side.
Led by Richie McCaw (142 caps), Keven Mealamu (126), Tony Woodcock (115) and Dan Carter (106), the defending champions have an added 345 test caps from their triumph in 2011, where they came into the tournament with the second most caps behind South Africa.
Over eight sides have more than 1000 combined test caps, with South Africa in second and Australia in fourth, surprisingly seperated by Georgia, who amassed 1,253 test caps amongst their 31-strong squad.
The squad surprisingly light on experience is England, who are 14th on the list with just 761 test caps, opting for a largely youthful squad for their World Cup on home soil.
Most experienced RWC squads:
1. New Zealand 1,484 caps
2. South Africa 1,297
3. Georgia 1,253
4. Australia 1,243
5. Italy 1,153
6. Romania 1,151
7. Ireland 1,024
8. Wales 1,013
9. Japan 984
10. France 979
11. Scotland 901
12. Argentina 845
13. Uruguay 833
14. England 761
15. Canada 673
16. Fiji 592
17. USA 552
18. Namibia 512
19. Tonga 501
20. Samoa 483
When it comes to having a strong core of players with 50 caps or more, Australia lead the way, with a large chunk of their predicted starting XV having plenty of top-level experience.
Players with 50 caps or more
1. Australia 13
2. South Africa 11
3. Romania 11
4. New Zealand 10
5. Ireland 9
6. Wales 8
7. Italy 8
8. Georgia 6
9. France 6
10. Argentina 5
11. Japan 4
12. Scotland 4
13. England 3
Of course, the balance between experience and talent is a crucial one, with the importance of experience often overstated.
Whether the selectors have nailed that balance will be determined when the World Cup starts in 17 days time.
