I hope everyone enjoyed the festivities and are ready for the Christmas derbies. I have been looking a little further back at the player stats of the rugby championship.

Delving into the role of various positions and how stats can show a game plan and the story.

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#Bajad8ta

There were 4 hookers who had over 120 minutes in this years Rugby Championship. There was a clear split in the use of hookers across the teams. The Australians and Kiwis used strong attackers and focussed on what they did with the ball.

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Instead the Pumas focussed on using Montoya’s strong defence, he averaged 5 more tackles than his nearest rival.
He was also a constant turnover threat. These combined to give him easily the highest defensive rating.

(Same Graph as before)

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The strongest attacker was Amosa, with incredibly strong carrying. The wallabies however, may want to increase the volume of ball Amosa was getting, averaging 1 less carry than Codie Taylor. He was a strong game breaker and will continue to be useful for the Wallabies.

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Michael Hooper was a strong performer in the back row. Probably due his ability to steal the ball. The Oz Captain had the second highest impact rating of a Wallaby back row, with Harry Wilson ’s incredible work rate posting him 5th Overall, one to watch from now on.

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However, the busiest back row was Marcos Kremer. The Argentine Flank/Lock hybrid was a machine, with an average of 18 tackles per game. This strong defence may have blunted the strength of his carrying, but he compensated with an incredible workload on attack as well.

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However, it’s time to leave the nitty gritty of the forwards and look at the flash of the backs. Starting with possibly the flashiest of the lot, the Back 3. Marika Korobete played the most minutes (302). He did however, have the biggest impact of an Australian Outside Back.

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New Zealand had a consistent back 3, with just Clarke and the 2 Barretts securing over 120 minutes in this year. Clarke and Jordie lead the way, both having over 15 game breaking events. Clarke had the highest carry quality, while Jordie was the rock at the back.

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While Argentina certainly struggled to score tries, favouring the boot of Sanchez instead. There was a clear stand out in their outside backs, of the 4 to play 120 minutes, Del Guy offered a strong attacking and defensive option. Also the fourth highest average attack rating

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Moving to the connectors, Centres tend to fit into two categories: the crash ball option or second distributor. The biggest carriers (Over 120 minutes) were found wearing gold. Hunter Paisami was also the biggest distributor, indicating Australia’s slightly wider game plan.

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New Zealand also tended to spread the ball, so what role did their midfield play. Reiko Ioane, was an incredibly effective attacker.

However the main centres were ALB and Goodhue, who offered a sense of defensive stability while offering a steady flow of carries.

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Looking at the centres offers a brilliant way to asses a game plan. The Argentine centres were rarely involved on the attack instead, helping to solidify the blue wall which became so important in their Rugby Championship successes.

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Orlando was the most attacking Argentine, but still had 3 defensive involvements for every 2 attack involvements. Only Goodhue joined the 4 Argentine centres with an above average amount of defence involvements.

(Same graph as before)

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The biggest game breaker was Richie Mounga. Who had 28 game breaking events across the tournaments. The All Black Fly Half was an incredibly run focussed Player, challenging the line with 9 carries per game. Multi threat alongside his high passing numbers.

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The beauty of a whole tournaments worth of player stats is you can begin to analyse a style of play. Whether it be whether a team focussed on attack or defence, or how they wide they shifted the ball.

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Attack Defence Balance

The Pumas were incredibly risk averse in their game play. The lead to them having more defensive than attacking involvements in their games.

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Attack Defence Balance Cont.

It sheds light on the prevalence of attack in Australia’s game, with 3 of their 4 games having higher than average attacking involvements. However the Kiwi’s understandably had the highest amount, with all 4 games above average

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We are also able to see the work horses of each side. The impact rating (developed by @SamLStandsUp ) shows a way of seeing the hidden work.

We see the prevalence of work rate in the Argentina back row, while the NZ midfielders carried out a steady amount of work.

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Using the spread of a teams involvements, we can see Argentina's reliance on a defensive midfield, and how the Australians relied on a more balanced approach.
We also see how all 3 teams use their Outside backs on attack. While Australia didn't always rely on their Fly Half.
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While Player stats can often be used to sell a headline, they do have some merit when considered across multiple games. All the stats are from ESPN, but with a bit of manipulation they can begin to tell a story and indicate slight differences in tactic and role.

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#Bajad8ta

All thoughts, questions and suggestions welcomed.

CC:
@RugbyReg @J52Wallusch @TheLooseH @thedeadballarea @threeredkings @CharlieFelix @andymcgeady @daviesGDD @thegainline @ek_rugby @brettruganalyst @alexshawsport @rugbycology @Murray_Kinsella @RugbyNZ_ @RugbyARG_ @RugbyAUS