England talisman and Fijian illusionist top Nations Championship stats after round 1

The 12 best national teams in rugby have been pitted against one another in the new Nations Championship, and while rugby is proudly a team sport, individual credit is always due.

The stats sheet will only ever reflect so much of rugby’s unique nuances, but it is an unbiased observer of the game and captures some of its key effort areas.

The RugbyPass stats hub is the place to find comprehensive breakdowns of each game and track who is leading the Nations Championship in each major category.

Tries
2: Will Jordan and Cam Roigard, New Zealand; Jac Morgan, Wales

Wales’ lone British & Irish Lion provided the finishing power for his team in a first-up win over Fiji, while two of New Zealand’s biggest stars were each on hand to help their team to a tight win over France.

With his brace, Will Jordan moved into second on the All Blacks‘ all-time leading try-scorers list, now trailing Doug Howlett by just two tries ahead of round 2’s showdown with Italy.

Four players had multiple try assists in round 1: Wales’ Joe Hawkins, Japan’s Naoto Saito, New Zealand’s Jordie Barrett and Scotland’s Ben White.

Scotland and South Africa shared the highest try count among the teams, with seven apiece.

Points
17: Takuro Matsunaga, Japan

The Japanese fullback claimed one try, two penalty goals, and three conversions in a famous win over Italy, leading the field in points. Two points behind Matsunaga was Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa, who was responsible for 15 of his team’s 45 points, thanks to a try and five conversions.

Interestingly, only one of the top eight point scorers from round 1 was a flyhalf, underscoring how try-centric the game is in 2026 and that kicking duties are anything but exclusive to those wearing the famous No.10 jersey.

Nations Championship

Northern Hemisphere

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Wales

1

1

0

0

5

2

Scotland

1

1

0

0

5

3

Ireland

1

1

0

0

5

4

France

1

0

1

0

2

5

Italy

1

0

1

0

0

6

England

1

0

1

0

0

Southern Hemisphere

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

South Africa

1

1

0

0

5

2

New Zealand

1

1

0

0

5

3

Japan

1

1

0

0

4

4

Australia

1

0

1

0

2

5

Argentina

1

0

1

0

1

6

Fiji

1

0

1

0

0

Defenders Beaten
17: Jiuta Wainiqolo, Fiji

Fiji’s winger owns the biggest outlier statistic from round 1, more than doubling the defenders-beaten tally of the next-best player, Scotland’s Kyle Rowe, who had eight tackle busts. Wainiqolo was in destructive form against Wales, also leading the field in metres carried (167) and offloads (5) — the latter category was dominated by Flying Fijians in round 1 of the tournament.

The Fijian team beat a total of 39 tackles, the most of any team, but tied England for the most penalties conceded and finished 10th out of 12 in points scored with 24.

Line breaks
5: Kyle Rowe, Scotland

Scotland’s attack was the most effective in round 1, scoring 47 points, and Rowe had his fingerprints all over the performance. Were it not for Wainiqolo’s absurd numbers, Rowe would have led the field in three categories instead of one. The Scotsman’s five line breaks bettered a group of four who made three, with that group consisting of Wainiqolo and fellow Fijian Salesi Rayasi, Wallabies star Max Jorgensen, and France’s resurgent dangerman Damian Penaud.

It was France that led the field in linebreaks as a collective, making 12 breaks against a New Zealand team which was second-best with 11.

Carries
21: Ben Earl, England

Shouldering a heavy load for his team, England’s Ben Earl made 10 more carries than his next-best teammate, George Martin. The No.8 converted those runs into metres, too, leading his side with 58 metres carried.

The top carriers list was dominated by loose forwards in round 1, with Australia’s Rob Valetini carrying 19 times, Italy’s Lorenzo Cannone making 18 carries, South Africa’s Jasper Wiese taking the ball into contact 17 times, and Ireland’s Jack Conan putting his hand up for 16 carries, a tally equalled by Japan captain Warner Dearns.

Fiji (148) carried the ball the most as a team, with New Zealand and France tied for second on 146.

Tackles
28: Julián Montoya, Argentina

Another big outlier on paper, Argentina’s talismanic hooker completed 28 of 29 attempted tackles in round 1. The tally was 12 more than his next-best teammate, Joaquin Oviedo.

Scotland’s Rory Darge (22) and Australia’s Harry Wilson (21) joined Montoya in the 20-tackle camp, with the Scotsman also guilty of just one miss while Wilson recorded a perfect defensive effort.

At a team level, France made the most stops with 215 in a fast-paced game under Christchurch’s new roof, trailed by Wales (205) and Ireland (204).

Turnovers Won
3: Tamo Mayanavanua, Fiji, and Matt Fagerson, Scotland

Fiji’s imposing lock and Scotland’s fetcher had the busiest hands defensively in round 1, each stealing the ball three times. Five players, all loose forwards, trailed the duo with two turnover wins.

Scotland was the peskiest team, with nine steals in their win over Argentina, followed by Fiji with eight, and Argentina with seven.

Dominant Tackles
5: Yoram Moefana, France

France’s powerful inside centre left his mark on the New Zealand attack in round 1, making a competition-best five dominant tackles in a 17-tackle performance. His opponents weren’t far off, however, with All Blacks lock Sam Darry making four dominant hits and Luke Jacobson joining Argentine winger Mateo Carreras with three dominant tackles.

France was the most physically imposing team of the round, making a total of 16 dominant tackles. Italy followed with 14, and New Zealand was next-best with 13.