A major nation is abscent from our 11 player Nations Championship stats topper list

With everyone patiently awaiting the November window for the Nations Championship, there’s no better time to break down the statistics and uncover who truly dominated each area of the game.

From the try-scoring kings to the jackaling experts, we have covered almost every corner of the game, with a few surprises popping up here and there.

Possibly surprisingly to some, not a single Springbok has made the 11-player list.

Clean Breaks: Théo Attissogbe (11)
The Les Bleus wonderkid Théo Attissogbe was at it again, as after making 12 clean breaks during the Six Nations, the winger has produced another 11 in the first three rounds of the inaugural Nations Championship.

Against Australia, the Section Paloise rapid stepper found his way through the Wallabies line four times, helping France complete an astonishing comeback at Suncorp Stadium.

At 21, Attissogbe has already earned his place among Fabien Galthié’s first-team choices and his performances in July showed exactly why.

With Selestino Ravutaumada and Will Jordan finishing with 7 each, the Nations Championship had its fair share of slick line breakers, spreading fear across the competition.

Defenders Beaten: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Jiuta Wainiqolo (27)
At the top of the defenders beaten standings, two wingers tied for first place with 27 successful tackle evasions each: England’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Fiji’s Jiuta Wainiqolo.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was one of Steve Borthwick’s most destructive weapons, while Wainiqolo tried to brighten Fiji fans’ day with his attacking flair.

Argentina’s Joaquin Oviedo claimed a surprise third place with 19 defenders beaten, underlining the impressive form he showed at the start of the Nations Championship.

Metres carried: Matthieu Jalibert (268)
It has been an incredible year for Matthieu Jalibert, both individually and collectively, as the Les Bleus utility back topped the running metres table, ahead of speedsters such as Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (255) and Will Jordan (234).

In France’s 42-15 win over Japan, the UBB playmaker was the game’s top runner, collecting 125 metres and two clean breaks to help the visitors come out of Tokyo with a bonus-point win.

Tries scored: Will Jordan (6)
It was a special July for Will Jordan as the utility back finally broke the All Blacks’ all-time leading try-scorer record, surpassing Doug Howlett and now setting the record at 51 tries.

Jordan crossed the try line six times in total, scoring twice in New Zealand’s opening clash with France, adding a hat-trick against Italy, and grabbing another finish against Ireland.

Wallabies Josh Canham earned the silver medal, as the lock bagged four tries, three of which came in the Wallabies’ 57-10 win over Italy.

Matthieu Jalibert, along with three other players, ended July having scored three tries each.

Post Contact Metres: Joaquin Oviedo (86)
The Pumas Joaquin Oviedo had an industrious July, breaking free from tackles and winning several post-contact metres, in what was potentially his best sequence of performances in the Test Match scene.

Against Wales, Oviedo was a non-stop force of nature, consistently troubling Steve Tandy’s side.

Rob Valentini was Australia’s prime ball carrier, winning valuable metres in most of his 37 carries, while England’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso also looked strong when he clashed with the opposition’s defence.

Turnovers won: Ben Gunter (6)
Brave Blossoms jackaling specialist Ben Gunter earned two honourable mentions in our Team of the Nations Championship Round—and for good reason. The flanker was dominant in every aspect of defence, consistently making his presence felt throughout the tournament.

With six successful breakdown turnovers, Gunter was one of Eddie Jones’ secret weapons to foster chaos around the Irish, French and Italian breakdowns.

Kitione Salawa, Ardie Savea, Josua Tuisova and Matt Fagerson claimed the silver and bronze medals, having all clinched four jackals each.

Total tackles attempted: Ross Vincent (75 at 85 per cent)

Even though the Azzurri had very few reasons to smile, Ross Vincent put up quite the shift with the back-rower recording 75 tackle attempts.

The Exeter Chiefs enforcer completed 85 per cent of his tackle attempts, making 31 tackles in Italy’s defeat to Australia and a further 30 against the All Blacks.

Wales’ Jack Morgan finished in 2^nd place, successfully bringing down 74 players, missing only three attempts, and France’s Marko Gazzotti took the bronze having made 66 attempts.

But before we close the tackle attempts chapter, Jack Conan deserves a shout as he was the only player to record more than 50 successful tackles while maintaining an accuracy rate of 90 per cent or higher.

Try assists: Jack van Poortvliet (4)
Jack van Poortvliet was the July Nations Championship’s leading try assister, with the English scrum-half helping four of his teammates to ground the oval ball.

The Leicester Tigers marshal-in-chief played a central role in pushing England over the finishing line, mainly in the clashes with Fiji and South Africa.

As for 2^nd and 3^rd place, All Black Jordie Barrett completed four key passes and Maxime Lucu three.

Lineout steals: Josh Canham and James Ryan (3)
Josh Canham had a top-level impact for the Wallabies, with the behemoth lock recording three lineout steals while also disrupting the opposition’s set piece, forcing three additional lineout knock-ons.

Ireland’s James Ryan also put in a highly productive performance in the lineout, with the lock tallying three steals.

England’s Ollie Chessum and Japan’s Warner Dearns were also dominant in the jumping contest, intercepting two opposition throw-ins each.

Kicking metres: Tomos Williams (1189)
Tomos Williams was the operator with the most metres kicked, reflecting Steve Tandy’s approach to the game as the Welsh scrum-half punted a grand total of 1189 metres.

Ryunosuke Ito was instrumental in Japan’s territorial game, covering 993 metres with his in-play kicking and repeatedly helping his side relieve pressure from dangerous positions in their own half.

Maxime Lucu of France ranked third with 699 kicking metres, split between box kicks, kicks to touch and high kicks.

Carries: Joaquin Oviedo (60)
Joaquin Oviedo appears in this stats article for a third time, further proving how influential the No.8 was for the Pumas.

Oviedo made contact a total of 60 times, winning the gain line 72 per cent of the time, imposing a physicality that made the difference both in close encounters and in open play.

The biggest surprise comes from the players ranked next, with fly-halves Matthieu Jalibert and Tomas Albornoz registering 50 and 46 carries respectively. The French maestro made it beyond the gain line on 40 per cent of his carries, while the Pumas playmaker achieved a gain-line success rate of over 50 per cent.