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Fissler Extra: RWC winner on URC shortlist, Italian eyed as Faf back-up
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The Rugby Championship kicks off this Saturday with the Wallabies v All Blacks at ANZ Stadium in Sydney where the All Blacks will be strong favourites among the gambling fraternity to register a 6th win on the trot.
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Recent stats are ordinary for the Australians and considering the game there continues to endure a massive shit-storm, they will be incredibly motivated. Read on for the hard numbers…
- The All Blacks have won their last five games against the Wallabies, the last time they won more was a 10-game streak from 2008 to 2010.
- New Zealand posted a 42-8 win against Australia when they last met at ANZ Stadium, the biggest win in the history of the fixture at that venue (16 games).
- The Wallabies have scored no more than a penalty goal in the opening half of each of their last three games at ANZ Stadium, trailing at halftime in each match, though they’ve gone on to earn a win and a draw in that period (L1).
- The All Blacks have lost only one of their last seven games within Australia (W4, D2), and will be looking to win consecutive fixtures on Australian soil for the first time since winning four on the trot from 2008 to 2010.
- Australia scored five tries in the opening 20 minutes of games in last year’s edition of the tournament, more than any other team and the Wallabies’ most in any quarter.
- New Zealand haven’t lost a scrum on their own feed in any of their last four Tests (34/34), and have lost just three of 76 scrums overall in their last 11 Tests.
- Tatafu Polota-Nau has made 44 appearances off the bench for the Wallabies, and his next will make him the most capped player off the bench in Australia’s history, eclipsing James Slipper (44).
- Ben Smith has scored 16 tries from 23 fixtures at The Rugby Championship, the equal third most of any player in the history of the competition while only one All Black (Richie McCaw, 17) has scored more.
- Michael Hooper made 72 tackles at the 2016 edition, seven more than any other player in the competition.
- Beauden Barrett high-scored with a haul of 81 points in the 2016 iteration of The Rugby Championship, 28 more than next-best Bernard Foley and Nicolas Sanchez.
