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The amount of times George Ford kicked the ball from hand and other outrageous Premiership Opta stats

By Rob Lancaster
Steve Borthwick praised George Ford and Ben Youngs following Leicester's win over Sale

The Premiership regular season came to an end on Saturday, meaning just four clubs are left in the running to win the title.

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Defending champions Exeter Chiefs finished top of the table, giving them home advantage in their semi-final against Newcastle Falcons. In the other tie to decide who will be at Twickenham on May 26, Saracens will welcome Wasps to Allianz Park.

London Irish, meanwhile, suffered relegation, though they will hope their time outside the top flight proves to be brief.

As the dust settles after 22 rounds of action, we’ve picked out some of the notable performers – and remarkable numbers – with the aid of Opta.

https://twitter.com/premrugby/status/993022571754016768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>May 6, 2018

 

KEEP ON RUNNING

Alex Goode made more ground than any other player in the Premiership. The England international gained 1,808 metres in total, comfortably ahead of nearest rival Olly Woodburn of Exeter as, unsurprisingly, backs dominated the category.

Wasps had three players finish inside the top 10, Willie Le Roux their leading man with 1,110 metres, just nine ahead of club colleague Christian Wade.

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South African full-back Le Roux was the Premiership’s assist king too, setting up 21 tries for a team that made more clean breaks (276) than any of their rivals.

However, Sarries were comfortably the top scorers in the English game. They finished with a whopping 731 points – 113 more than Exeter – and ran in 89 tries, their final tallies boosted by a sensational run-in that saw them amass 217 points in April alone following their European Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Leinster.

Continue reading below…

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SET-PIECE SPECIALISTS

Exeter lock Jonny Hill was the only player over the season to reach three figures in terms of line-outs won, finishing with 103. Fellow Chief Don Armand also had 80, putting him sixth on the list.

Saracens were the other team to have two representatives in the top 10; Nick Isiekwe (86) was their best performer, though George Kruis’ final total of 59 was impressive considering he made just 14 Premiership appearances.

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The duo’s efforts helped the capital club finish with a 92.9 per cent line-out success rate, the best by any club during 2017-18. Newcastle were the masters of the scrum though, the Falcons posting an astonishing 96.7 per cent success rate.

 

CASE FOR THE DEFENCE

It is not just about what you do when in possession of the ball. Defensive experts may not draw in the crowds like those who score tries or kick for goal, but they play a pivotal part in deciding their team’s fortunes over the course of a gruelling campaign.

This season, no player made more tackles than Sale’s Jono Ross (336). The experienced back-rower, signed in April 2017, impressed in his debut season with his willingness to do the dirty work. Fellow Shark Ross Harrison was one of only three players to top the 300-mark, the other being Lewis Ludlow of Gloucester.

Northampton Saints flanker Jamie Gibson managed 251 tackles and was also a master at stealing possession, finishing in a tie for top spot in turnovers won. His tally of 19 was matched by Dave Ward of Harlequins.

 

FORD PUTS THE BOOT IN

England star George Ford finished top of the charts when it came to kicks in open play, booting the ball 239 times during his 16 league outings for Leicester Tigers.

No other player managed to break the 200-barrier, Marcus Smith of Quins the next on the list with 194.

Exeter used their kicking game to good effect – Nic White (186) and Gareth Steenson (170) both featured in the top 10 – yet no team had the ball more than the Chiefs. Their average time in possession was 23 minutes and 31 seconds, nearly four minutes more than second-placed Gloucester.

Rob Baxter’s side also had more carries (3,605) and made more metres (11,147) than any of their competitors, underlying just why they ended up on top of the pile.

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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