What Rugby Teams and Investment Strategies Have in Common
Although there may be plenty of financial markets chat in the stands at Twickenham, the rugby scrum and the trading pit are two disparate worlds. However, the strategies that drive championship teams like the New Zealand All Blacks or South Africa’s Springboks share core principles with the investment approaches that have built fortunes for some of the world’s most successful investors. This article explores these parallels and offers insights from both domains.
Investment Factors as Rugby Playing Styles
Just as investment styles can be categorised into factors like momentum, growth, value, low volatility, and quality, rugby teams adopt distinct playing styles that bear striking resemblances to these investment approaches.
Value Investing & England’s Pragmatic Rugby
Investment Style: Value investing focuses on identifying securities trading below their intrinsic value, seeking companies with strong fundamentals that are underpriced by the market. Value investors analyse metrics like price-to-earnings, price-to-book, and debt levels to find stocks trading at discounts to their fair value. This approach prioritises margin of safety, often targeting companies experiencing temporary setbacks or operating in out-of-favour sectors that still possess strong underlying business models and balance sheets.
Rugby Example: England under Steve Borthwick exemplifies rugby’s version of value investing through their pragmatic, fundamentals-focused approach. While others chase flashier styles, England invests in undervalued aspects of rugby: set-piece solidity, territorial kicking, and defensive structure. Their forward-oriented game plan prioritises high-percentage plays that deliver consistent returns rather than risky attacking gambits. Players like Maro Itoje, Ellis Genge, and Jamie George represent investments in unglamorous but essential rugby assets—the tight five equivalents of value stocks with strong balance sheets. England’s victories often come through patient accumulation of points via penalties and drop goals, eschewing risky play for more certain returns.
Investment Parallel: This approach mirrors classic value investing as practiced by Benjamin Graham and later Warren Buffett, who seek companies trading below their intrinsic value. Value investors, like England’s rugby approach, focus on solid fundamentals (strong balance sheets, cash flows) rather than exciting growth stories. Both approaches accept appearing boring or outdated in exchange for sustainable long-term results. Just as England often wins through set-piece dominance and territorial control rather than highlight-reel tries, value investors succeed by backing solid but unloved companies with strong fundamentals trading at discounts to their intrinsic value.
Momentum Investing & France’s Attacking Rugby
Investment Style: Momentum investing is characterised by targeting securities that have shown upward price movement over the past 3-12 months, operating on the principle that assets that have performed well recently will continue to outperform in the future. This approach relies on identifying and capitalising on market trends and riding the wave of positive sentiment. Momentum investors typically look for strong relative performance compared to the broader market, increasing trading volumes, and positive earnings surprises.
Rugby Example: France’s national team under Fabien Galthié perfectly embodies momentum investing through their electrifying attacking approach. Les Bleus build momentum through quick ball movement and support runners, creating a snowball effect where initial line breaks become unstoppable attacking sequences. Players like Antoine Dupont and Louis Bielle-Biarrey excel at identifying defensive gaps and accelerating through them, much like momentum investors spot emerging trends. France’s 2025 Six Nations victory showcased this style, with tries often coming in clusters as one breakthrough creates momentum for subsequent scores.
Investment Parallel: Momentum investing follows this same pattern by identifying securities showing upward price trends and riding that momentum for continued gains. Like France’s attacking play under Galthié, momentum strategies capitalise on existing price strength and acceleration rather than looking for undervalued assets. Both succeed by recognising a move in the right direction and amplifying that movement through timely commitment of resources.
Growth Investing & Expansive Rugby
Investment Style: Growth investing focuses on companies expected to grow their revenue, earnings, or cash flows at rates significantly above market averages. Rather than seeking undervalued companies, growth investors willingly pay premium prices for businesses with exceptional expansion potential, typically in innovative or rapidly developing sectors. These investments are characterised by high price-to-earnings ratios, reinvestment of profits rather than dividend payments, and strong projected future earnings growth.
Rugby Example: Australia’s Wallabies under Rod Macqueen and Eddie Jones in the late 1990s and early 2000s, pioneered an expansive, growth-oriented style. Their approach emphasised skills development, creative backline play, fast ruck speed and attacking from anywhere on the field. Players like Stephen Larkham and George Gregan represented investments in skill and creativity rather than pure power, focusing on future potential rather than immediate physical dominance.
Investment Parallel: This mirrors growth investing, exemplified by the long-term success that came from identifying companies like NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Alphabet during in their growth trajectories, paying premium valuations for businesses with exceptional expansion runways. Just as Australia invested in running rugby over traditional pragmatism, growth investors prioritise innovation and future potential over current fundamentals. Both accept higher immediate risk for potentially greater long-term rewards.
Low Volatility Investing & Possession Rugby
Investment Style: Low volatility investing targets securities that exhibit less price fluctuation than the broader market, based on the anomalous finding that lower-risk stocks often outperform higher-risk ones on a risk-adjusted basis. This approach prioritises stability and downside protection, typically focusing on defensive sectors like utilities, consumer staples, and healthcare. Low volatility portfolios aim to deliver smoother return patterns with smaller drawdowns during market corrections, making them suitable for risk-averse investors seeking more consistent performance.
Rugby Example: Ireland under Joe Schmidt (2013-2019) perfected a low-volatility approach through possession-focused, high-percentage rugby. They minimised risk by maintaining a highly structured defensive system, holding the ball through multiple phases, rarely forcing offloads, and applying calculated pressure through highly deliberate backline attack rather than risky plays. Their 2018 Grand Slam and victories over the All Blacks demonstrated how controlling variance through disciplined possession can yield consistent results.
Investment Parallel: This approach mirrors low volatility investing strategies by selecting stocks with lower historical price fluctuations. Both prioritise consistency and risk reduction over maximum returns or spectacular plays. Like Ireland’s methodical phase play, low volatility strategies may not generate headline-grabbing returns but deliver steadier long-term performance with greater consistency and fewer dramatic drawdowns.
Quality Investing & All Blacks Rugby
Investment Style: Quality investing focuses on companies with strong competitive advantages, stable earnings growth, high returns on invested capital, and robust balance sheets. Unlike value investing, quality strategies willingly pay fair or even premium prices for businesses with exceptional operational efficiency, strong brand power, and consistent profitability. These companies typically maintain high margins, low debt levels, and sustainable business models that can weather economic downturns better than their peers.
Rugby Example: New Zealand’s famous All Blacks represent rugby’s quality factor with their emphasis on fundamental skills executed at the highest level. Their “basics done brilliantly” philosophy ensures every player can pass accurately, tackle effectively, and make sound decisions under pressure. This quality-first approach has made them the sport’s most consistently successful team, and most successful team across all sports for that matter, maintaining a win rate above 75% over many decades.
Investment Parallel: Like the All-Blacks’ emphasis on core skills, quality investors prioritise fundamental business strength over speculative growth stories or deep value opportunities. Both approaches accept paying fair prices for genuine quality that delivers consistent long-term outperformance.
The worlds of rugby and investment may seem worlds apart on the surface, but their paths to success share remarkable similarities. Both require the balance of immediate tactical execution with long-term strategic vision. Both require disciplined performance under pressure and the wisdom to know when to be conservative and when to take calculated risks.
Whether on the pitch or in the markets, the fundamental principles of success—discipline, adaptability, data-driven decision-making, and balanced risk management, remain consistent. The investment factors of momentum, growth, value, low volatility, and quality find their sporting equivalents in different rugby playing styles, each with their own strengths and appropriate applications. No style consistently outperforms any other, so successful investing comes down to maintaining a disciplined strategy and adjusting your approach to a match to maximise the benefits of these styles in different market cycles.
How to create a RWC Winning Investment Portfolio
Learning from the Springboks success
1. Disciplined Execution Under Pressure
The 2023 Rugby World Cup saw South Africa’s Springboks execute a meticulous game plan. Despite the immense pressure of a difficult pool stage and finals path, the Springboks maintained discipline, dominated set pieces, and utilised their ’bomb squad’ as the opposition started to tire, to win each match by the narrowest of margins. Culminating in the final against New Zealand, where they were able to keep their defence in order against a threatening All Blacks side, to retain the Web Ellis Cup in a match that was in the balance right up to the final whistle.
For novice investors, disciplined execution means establishing and following clear investment rules regardless of market noise or emotional impulses. Start by creating a written investment plan detailing your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. Set specific criteria for when to buy and sell investments and commit to following these rules even when market volatility triggers fear or greed. Consider implementing automated contributions to prevent emotional decision-making and establish a regular portfolio review schedule (quarterly is often sufficient) rather than checking daily. Remember, the most successful investors aren’t necessarily the most intelligent, but rather those who maintain discipline during market extremes when others abandon their plans.
2. Balance Between Specialists and All-Rounders
Whilst the Springboks built a game around power and set piece dominance of their big forwards, they also balanced this with superb tactical kicking and speed out wide. Given the 7-1 split they often had on their bench, it also required forward to shuffle into the backline and backs to play multiple positions as matches progressed. While maintaining traditional South African forward strengths, they fielded players with remarkably diverse skill sets. Pieter-Steph du Toit seamlessly transitioned between lock and flanker positions, combining specialist lineout skills with openside defensive work. Usually coming off the bench as an impact player, Kwagga Smith, originally a sevens specialist, brought exceptional ball-handling and open-field running to the flanker position.
For novice investors, balancing specialists and all-rounders translates to combining foundational investments as a ‘core’ with select specialised holdings as ‘satellites’. Build your portfolio around low-cost index funds or ETFs or funds that provide broad market exposure, typically allocating 60-80% of your portfolio here. Then complement these with carefully selected specialised investments that target specific opportunities you understand well, such as sector ETFs, or individual companies you follow closely. This balanced approach gives you the stability of broad market participation while allowing targeted exposure to areas with potential outperformance.
3. Tactical Flexibility and Strategic Consistency
The 2023 Springboks’ World Cup-winning campaign masterfully demonstrated tactical flexibility within strategic consistency. South Africa maintained their core strategic identity—set-piece dominance, territorial kicking, and physical defence—while deploying radically different tactical approaches between matches. Against France in the quarterfinals, they employed a tight, forward-dominated game with a 7-1 bench split featuring seven forwards and just one back as replacements. In contrast, for the final against New Zealand, they shifted to a more conventional 5-3 split, anticipating a different tactical challenge. Their innovative “Bomb Squad”—rotating entire forward packs to maintain physical intensity—remained a strategic constant, while their use of Handré Pollard versus Manie Libbok at fly-half represented tactical flexibility based on opposition and game state. Most notably, they shifted from a kicking-oriented approach in earlier rounds to surprising attacking width in the final, catching the All Blacks off guard while never abandoning their fundamental structural strengths.
Successful investors maintain this balance between tactical flexibility and strategic consistency in portfolio management. For beginners, this means establishing firm investing principles (your strategy) while allowing room for practical adjustments (your tactics). Start by defining your strategy and commit to it for the long run. At the same time, build in tactical flexibility through planned rebalancing and maintaining a small tactical opportunities allocation (no greater than 10-20% of your portfolio) that can be deployed during market corrections or for short term trading opportunities. When beginning, focus more on strategic consistency and only build up cash reserves by trimming profits once your investments achieve their investment thesis and full valuation. Then, deploy this ‘dry powder’ when markets decline significantly (typically 10%+ corrections). Set specific price targets or valuation metrics for investments on your watchlist and establish automatic alerts to notify you when they reach those levels. Review these opportunities quarterly and update your targets based on changing fundamentals. Use a decision checklist to evaluate potential investments objectively when opportunities arise, preventing impulsive actions.
4. Data-Driven Decision Making
The Springboks under Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber transformed South African rugby through sophisticated data analytics and evidence-based coaching. Their “Erasmus Revolution” began with establishing an unprecedented analytical department that tracked everything from player GPS metrics to opposition tendency analysis. Their meticulous approach was evident in the 2023 World Cup, where they identified precisely how many minutes each player could maintain peak performance, influencing their revolutionary “Bomb Squad” substitution strategy.
For novice investors, data-driven decision-making means relying on objective information rather than emotional reactions to news or hot tips. Begin by understanding key metrics like earnings per share growth, price-to-earnings ratios, dividend yields, return on equity, expense ratios for funds, and historical performance across different market cycles. Free tools like Yahoo Finance, Morningstar’s basic features, and your brokerage’s research section provide sufficient data for beginners. Remember that successful investing isn’t about finding obscure data points but consistently applying straightforward analysis to align with your strategy and avoid obvious mistakes.
How a Professional Investment Manager Can Help
A professional investment manager adds value by developing match winning strategies to help you get the most out of your investing in a way that suits your objectives and risk profile.
Investment professionals bring practical advantages: ready to deploy investment strategies, institutional-grade research and professional experience to identify opportunities and establish a game plan to get the ball over the line, whilst keeping the opposition at bay.
Most importantly, a professional manager provides consistency and structure when markets feel chaotic, executing your investment strategy when conditions might otherwise derail your long-term plan.
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