Three Premiership players that stood out statistically on opening weekend
OPTA have released their statistical rankings for the opening weekend of the 2018/19 Gallagher Premiership, with Luke Morahan, Nathan Hughes and Sam Skinner among the big winners.
Morahan led the competition with 108 metres with ball in hand and was one of just two players to break into triple figures, with Worcester Warriors’ Chris Pennell notching 100m exactly. Worcester’s Josh Adams (99), Exeter Chiefs’ Phil Dollman (95) and Sale Sharks’ Marland Yarde (94) made up the rest of the top five.
Morahan, who enjoyed a lively Premiership debut in Bristol’s 17-10 win over Bath, also topped the defenders beaten table with eight. Hughes was hot on heels with seven defenders beaten, whilst Adams, Ben Tapuai, Sam Simmonds and Santiago Cordero all managed to beat six defenders.
In addition to beating seven defenders, Wasps’ Hughes also stood out with his work rate, making 26 carries and falling just outside of the top five metre makers with 90m to his name. Exeter’s trio of Ian Whitten, Ollie Devoto (both 19) and Simmonds (18) all ranked highly for carries, as did, surprisingly, a fly-half, in the form of Wasps’ Billy Searle.
108 – On what was his @premrugby debut @BristolBears' @Ljmorahan made the most metres (108) and beat the most defenders (8) of any player on the opening weekend of action. Koala. ??? pic.twitter.com/SJG86U8jqC
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) September 3, 2018
Will Welch topped the tackle charts with 19 and was closely followed by club teammate Callum Chick, who had 17, as Newcastle Falcons dealt with the possession-heavy threat of Saracens. Darren Barry, Sione Kalamafoni and Michael Fitzgerald completed the top five, with 16 tackles apiece.
Devoto and Francois Venter shared the offloading crown for the week with four apiece, whilst Whitten and Cordero, both with three, showed that there’s much more to Exeter this season than route one rugby and efficient recycling.
26 – @WaspsRugby's @NateWJHughes made 26 carries against @WorcsWarriors at the weekend, seven more than any other player in round 1 and the most he has ever made in a @premrugby match. Impact. pic.twitter.com/NZC0YxAT0P
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) September 3, 2018
At the lineout, another Exeter player was busy ruling the roost, with Skinner accounting for nine takes, a significant margin over his closest competitors Jono Ross and Courtney Lawes, both of whom snared six throws. Dave Attwood and Calum Green popped up with five takes.
A number of players, including Green, Lawes and Maro Itoje showed up with a lineout steal, but Matt Symons was the standout defensive lineout threat, nabbing two steals and showing that the Harlequins lineout is not going to be the ineffectual unit it was last season.
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David Strettle was the king of the clean breaks with four, ahead of a host of backs with three, including Morahan, Whitten, Tapuai, Yarde and Olly Woodburn. Forwards Simmonds and Jamie George also accounted for three clean breaks.
Among the negative statistics, Heinrich Brüssow was in a league of his own with six penalties conceded, double the amount of any other player in the competition. Symons, Alec Hepburn, Ryan Mills, Dan Cole and Ben Franks all conceded three on the opening weekend.
In the missed tackle charts, Kalamafoni came out on top with seven, whilst Sam James, Matt Toomua and George Ford all showed up prominently with five missed tackles apiece.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments