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The Numbers Game: The Sharks Are Circling An NRL Record

By Calum Henderson
Ben Barba

Our weekly trawl through the most surprising stats in the rugby and league pick ‘n’ mix.

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3
The three penalty tries referee awarded by Mike Fraser during the Blues vs Waratahs game in Round 17 (two to the Waratahs and one to the Blues) was the most penalty tries awarded in a single Super Rugby game.

14
The Sharks win over the Roosters on Monday night was their 14th win in a row – a club record. The most consecutive wins in NRL history is 19, set by Eastern Suburbs in 1975. The Sharks next six games are against the Knights, Titans, Raiders, Dragons, Rabbitohs and Roosters.

9
Rookie Eels winger Bevan French has scored 9 tries in his first six NRL games. The 20-year-old bagged a double in Parramatta’s loss to the Panthers in Round 19.

7
Warriors forward Charlie Gubb was banned for 7 weeks by the NRL judiciary for a grade 2 shoulder charge on Darcy Lussick in his team’s Round 19 loss to the Sea Eagles in Perth. Greg Inglis was only banned three weeks for a grade 2 shoulder charge which broke Josh Dugan’s jaw in State of Origin the previous week.

2
The Highlanders have only ever beaten the Brumbies in Canberra twice in ten attempts – 2002 and 2006. The Brumbies have won their last four home encounters against the Highlanders – 2008, 2010, 2012 and most recently a 31-18 win in 2015.

 
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535
The Lions are on track to break the record for most points scored in a Super Rugby season this weekend. They are currently six short of the record 541, set by competition winners the Crusaders back in 2005. The Crusaders’ 2005 campaign took 13 games – by comparison, the Lions have already played 15 games in 2016.

-402
The Kings’ 2016 points differential is easily the worst in Super Rugby history. That’s an average losing margin of 26.8 points per game – and they won two of their games.

11
Waratah Israel Folau tops the Super Rugby season tries leaderboard with 11. Four players in playoffs teams have scored 9 tries this season and are best poised overtake him: Chiefs Damian McKenzie and Seta Taminavalu, Highlander Matt Faddes and Lion Lionel Mapoe.

1378
Canberra Raiders second rower Elliott Whitehead has played more minutes than any other player in the NRL this season. The English import is averaging 81 minutes per game – three Raiders games have gone to golden point extra time so far this season.

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79
Wigan Warriors have scored the second-fewest tries in the Super League this season – the only side with less is Leeds Rhinos (65). Despite their low-scoring ways the Warriors sit at the top of the table heading into the Super 8s, second to Hull FC only on points difference.

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J
Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

33 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

33 Go to comments
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