Sam Simmonds' metres per carry stat and more from Round 1
It was an exciting weekend of rugby to kick off the 2018 NatWest Six Nations, with pre-tournament favourites England and Ireland both recording away victories and Wales laying down an emphatic marker of their own in Cardiff.
We dive into the stats behind the results and compare how each team fared in a number of different areas on the opening weekend.
In terms of possession and territory, Ireland led the way out in Paris, recording tournament-high marks of 68% in both categories. Wales were next up with 53% possession and 52% territory, leaving Scotland just on the other side of the divide.
Italy actually had the advantage in both categories over England despite defeat, with 52% in both, but the reigning champions were clearly a lot more clinical with the opportunities that came their way.
This left France on the bottom rung, who only managed to record 32% possession and territory on their home ground, and that lack of ball security and control showed up in the amount of tackles they had to make.
Les Bleus led the way in this category, making a whopping 238 successful tackles, which was, incredibly, over 100 tackles more than any other side had to make this past weekend. England were next up with 136 tackles, before Italy with 105, and finally Ireland, Scotland and Wales all recorded 98 apiece.
2? – @samsimmonds_ is the first @EnglandRugby forward to score a brace of tries in a @SixNationsRugby game since @jameshaskell in 2010 (v Wales), and just the third overall (also @dallaglio8 v Scotland, 2001). Pair. pic.twitter.com/IGWVccisAh
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) February 4, 2018
Some credit must be given to France, though, who made those 238 tackles at an impressive 94% completion rate. Even in a passive defence, that is a noteworthy completion percentage, especially with that amount of work having to be done.
England were next up with 89%, followed by Ireland at 87%, Scotland with 86% and Wales with 84%. Lastly came Italy with an unimpressive rate of 80%, which played a significant role in England’s seven tries out in Rome.
Set-piece accuracy was also key for the victorious sides this week and England’s 95% success rate on 20 set-pieces helped give them an advantage over Italy, who recorded 87% on 15 set-pieces.
Ireland’s 95% success rate on 19 set-pieces also proved key in Paris, where France’s 88% on 17 events didn’t quite give them the control they wanted.
It was even more pronounced in Cardiff, where Wales’ 95% success rate on 21 set-pieces comfortably outstripped Scotland’s 81% on the same number of lineouts and scrums.
Unsurprisingly, England led the way in defenders beaten with 26, followed by Scotland with 19, Italy with 17 and Wales with 16. Again, these four sides made up the top four for clean breaks, too, with Wales out in front with 18, England in second with 14, Scotland third with 10 and Italy fourth with eight.
The games in Rome and Cardiff were more open and high-tempo affairs, making it wholly unsurprising that France and Ireland trailed in these categories. Both sides managed 15 defenders beaten apiece and France recorded two clean breaks, whilst Ireland played 80 minutes in Paris without a single clean break.
In terms of individual player stats, there were also some interesting takeaways from the weekend’s action.
To keep it as a relevant as possible, we have split individual player stats into backs and forwards.
Ireland’s CJ Stander led the way with 24 carries amongst forwards, followed by Italy’s Sebastian Negri with 18, James Ryan with 15 and then two more Irish representatives, with 14 apiece for Iain Henderson and Cian Healy.
The metre-per-carry average tells a different story, however, with Sam Simmonds’ 75m on 13 carries giving him a 5.8m per carry average and seeing him share the most “explosive” award with Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones, who achieved the same mark on six carries for 35m. Cory Hill’s 4.6m, Alessandro Zani’s 3.6m and Jonny Gray’s 3.4m per carry averages rounded out the rest of the top five.
Among the backs, only Steff Evans topped the 100m mark this weekend, recording 103m in Cardiff, with Stuart Hogg (79m), Teddy Thomas (79m), Anthony Watson (78m) and Finn Russell (76m) closest to him.
If we convert these to per carry averages, however, Watson comes out on top with 13m, 7.9m for Thomas, Hogg with 6.6m, Russell with 6.3m and Evans backing up with 6m.
A mention, too, for France’s Guilhem Guirado, who despite suffering from flu in preparation for the Test with Ireland, managed to record 31 successful tackles in Paris, the most of any player on the opening weekend. Simmonds, with 22 tackles, was the only non-Frenchman to feature in the top five, with Kevin Gourdon (20), Sebastien Vahaamahina (20) and Wenceslas Lauret (19) also present.
It will be interesting to see if these trends continue throughout the championship or whether they were simply one-offs in the opening weekend.
Comments on RugbyPass
100% agree with your comment about Touch. I’ve been playing it competitively since Covid. It’s on a Wednesday night after work. It means the weekend is free for time with my family.
1 Go to commentsRodda back is massively important for the Wallabies. Kaitu at hooker important too coz he was very good a few years ago.
1 Go to commentsThe pink cabous might be eligible this year and the Boks don’t need him
7 Go to commentsNasser and kaitu are options for hooker. Especially Nasser. You forgot Rodda who touch wood will be fit at test time and if fit he’s number one. Great partner for the great Skelton and Oz best lineout caller. Third best lock is LSL whom I’d be inclined to sub on for Skelton around 60 minutes. Probably start valetini at 8 because I like a big body back there. Cale should play 6 at the brumbies. For Wallabies definitely cale in the squad but as an apprentice. Dunno who starts at 6 seru wright Swinton hanigan with Will Harris and Harry Wilson not far away. Seru and Swinton my front runners but Swinton is going. Still if we don’t cap seru then Fiji must coz they need his lineout skills and easily compensate for his lack of weight
7 Go to commentsYeah but who was it?
8 Go to commentsThink you might have written this just before the Brumbies got thrashed last weekend
7 Go to commentsI really do believe that Billy Proctor should be selected at least in the larger squad but also it would be my choice at 13, much more a center than Ioane who can still play at wing. Roigard if fit should play, otherwise it should be Perenara or Christie. Also, Iose could deserve a spot at blindside. Of course, being a Canes supporter I’m biased but I really believe that at least Billy P is deserving a chance and being Holland one of the Selectors, I’m having a little hope he could grab it.
12 Go to commentsI would not play Swinton I’d pick Wright or Hanigan. The rest are decent starters, but can’t agree on any subs except Tupou. My take on the subs: Gibbon, Ueslese, Tupou, LSL, Wilson, White, Will Harrison, and Petaia.
7 Go to commentsSBW the biggest moron to pull on a black jersey a park footy player at best
8 Go to commentsSBW is fast becoming a laughing stock, his misplaced comments & lack of insight Is actually pretty sad.
8 Go to commentsJust well you guys are couch 🛋 potatoes selector's, picking a team of greenhorns to play England! “What are you people smoking?” The halfbacks will be Christie, Fakatava, Perenara Props; Newell, Bower, Lomax, Tunga'fasi, Hookers; Asosa Amua when fit, Taylor, Samisoni,
12 Go to commentsQuite frankly, all this is a bit pathetic. The first time Wales get the Wooden Spoon in 21 years and everyone is on the bandwagon for a ‘play-off’ game. Wales have no obligation to Georgia and no obligation to the rest of the Six Nations to play such a game. If they want Georgia in so badly then they need to include South Africa into a Northern Hemisphere competition with 2 leagues of 4 teams with the top 2 competing for the Championship. Sadly, this will end Triple Crowns and Grand Slams forever. Is this really what you want?
4 Go to commentsI think Finau to start Blackadder to come on. Poss Prokter instead of Ioane, haven't seen much from Reiko so far this year.
12 Go to commentsJoe will have had a good chat with Dave Rennie, a smart move to begin with while it’s doubtful Fast Eddie will be consulted? Plenty of Aus players hitting top form so they should go OK.
7 Go to commentsMmm. Not sure I like this article or see it as necessary.
8 Go to commentsBlackadder but no Finau! 😀 It’s Razor so you are probably right, plus Taylor at 2…
12 Go to commentsThe strongest possible AB side would actually include Aaron Smith, Bodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Shannon Frizzel.. don’t get me started on the rest of the injury hit brigade that got flung on the heap so left. Many a whole not getting filled as of yet.
12 Go to commentsI don’t think anyone knows what Schmidt will do, one thing is certain it ain’t gonna be all the picks we on the keyboard will think. My impression of him is that he will be looking at who can step up and what is the best combination. He will ignore individuals as he looks for guys who can build a powerful team and not just guys who can make a flashy run or ignore the winger as they want to score themselves.
7 Go to commentsSome dumb selections there. Not Porecki Not Donaldson Not Gordon Not Lonegran - both Not Nic White - Fines instead Not Liam Wright Not Paisami Definitely not Vunivalu Other than that not bad.
7 Go to commentsI've never been convinced that Patty T is a test match all black. Otherwise I probably agree it's the best side available to beat the poms. Caveat that Codie Taylor is yet to be seen and could very likely warrant selection by June. I hope that Razor brings the young loosies, half backs and locks into the training squad and develops/ selects the best
12 Go to comments