Six Nations: 6 Key Stats From Round 5

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any madder, the Six Nations goes and gives us the most super of Super Saturdays. It seems childish to try and rationalise the insanity we just saw into numbers and graphics. But, as always, there is always more to be learned when we peel back the narratives and take a look and the raw data. Let’s dive in…

Scotland Play Into Ireland’s Hands

The headline stat from Ireland vs Scotland was that the Irish were forced into making 228 tackles, which is the most they have ever made in a Six Nations match. This may sound like a phenomenal defensive shift – similar to what Wales put in against Ireland last week – but it actually tells the story of why Scotland lost this game.

Possession

44%56%

High phase count rugby is an Irish speciality. Scotland may favour keeping the ball and going through the phases (138 rucks in this match) but that is exactly the kind of game Ireland love to play. Each of these Ireland players will have logged thousands of hours training against multiphase attacks during the Joe Schmidt and early Andy Farrell eras. Their 91% tackle success in this game shows how they were able to manage what Scotland brought.

On Sunday, Opta revealed a graphic that showed that, of Ireland’s 227 tackles, only one was within five metres of the touchline. This shows how Scotland were not able to stretch Ireland. We have seen this trend repeated at club level, where Leinster (the bulk of Ireland’s squad) have an excellent record against Glasgow (the bulk of Scotland’s squad) because they play in the same way.

Ireland Finally Show Their Muscle

Ireland’s physicality has been questioned at times in this championship after they were blown away by France and frustrated by Italy at home. However, They dominated the physical contest against Scotland, making 15 dominant hits to the visitors’ 7. Meanwhile, the Scottish were unable to stop Ireland in the other direction, allowing them a massive 4.7 points per 22m entry and failing to register a single turnover in the whole match.

Italy’s Fatigue

Going into the Six Nations, Italy’s squad was ravaged by injuries which heavily restricted the players Gonzalo Quesada was able to select. The result of that was, by the final game, Italy had used the fewest players of any team in the Six Nations. Making matters worse was the fact that the Italian players had played on average 20 minutes more than their Welsh opposition, explaining why some observed the team looking lethargic as the game played out.

Welsh Warrior Stands Up

Josh Adams has seen the highs and lows of Welsh rugby. He has won Six Nations, Grand Slams, been to World Cup semi-finals, beaten the Springboks in South Africa and been on Lions Tours. It has been a tough couple of seasons for every Welsh player, but Adams has been excellent for all of this Six Nations. Against Italy, he topped it off with a superb performance, typified by a tap tackle on a rampaging Tommaso Menoncello which saved a try, despite the fact the game was already well won. 

English Breakdown Blunderbuss

Depending on which stats provider you use, France have just one ruck turnover in their last 2 games. England clearly identified the breakdown as an area of weakness for France and targeted it in the final game With the referee allowing the game to be chaotic, England’s ruck cleaners and off-the-ball bargers had a field day.

Of 95 English rucks, just 1 went astray. This was a big part of why England were able to have a massive 51% of their possession down in France’s 22m. Sean Edwards bristled when quizzed on the breakdown strategy by ITV after the game. His Wales team was known for its breakdown specialists, making it unlikely Le Bleus were executing a plan he had laid out.

French Flair Wins Out

This French team will be remembered for its attack. They have scored 30 tries in a single tournament for the second year in a row and dominate every attacking stat worth mentioning. Plenty of their players are worthy of praise, but the man who led their record breaking attack this year was fly-half Matthieu Jalibert. Despite being type-cast as a flaky maverick, Jalibert stood up in adversity and delivered a masterclass yet again on Saturday. Truly, the maestro!