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The amount of times George Ford kicked the ball from hand and other outrageous Premiership Opta stats
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…
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.
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments