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England aren't afraid to hang on in contact
Who made the most errors? Who did the most tackling? We dissect the Official Match Data from the third weekend of Six Nations action.
Once again the stats this week highlight what we all know already: The margins are so small at Test level that every mistake comes at a cost.
Unfortunately for fans of northern hemisphere rugby, the error count in all three games is uncomfortably high.
Scotland coach Andy Robinson was raging at the referee following the loss to Ireland at Murrayfield and you can bet your house that he gave his squad the same treatment after they missed 12 tackles. At least they only gave away four penalties, the most disciplined display of the weekend.
France have really cleaned up their act on defence: After missing 25 tackles against Scotland, they missed only four against Ireland and then just one against England.
For the second time in three weeks, Scotland were the team most eager to send the ball through the hands, completing the most passes - 192 - but in a real turnaround, Italy were next with 191. The Azzurri reveled in their new attacking approach, offloading in the tackle 17 times, more than any other team.
England offloaded just five times, highlighting their confidence in retaining possession in the contact area. England won the most turnovers, stealing French ball seven times, leading Les Bleus coach Marc Lièvremont to question the ref's calls at the breakdown.
But the French should do some introspection too. You can't make 16 errors and expect to win at Twickenham.
For all their passing, the Scots broke the Irish line just twice. Ireland were the best at breaching the opposition defence, doing it seven times. All those missed tackles by the men in blue obviously helped.
For the third consecutive week, Wales did the most kicking. Wales also gave away the most penalties, a whopping 15! Ireland were next worst, giving away 12 (not 14 as Robinson intimated).
With three rounds completed, a global picture has begun to emerge. While Wales have overtaken England as the most penalised team, more interesting is the ratio between penalties conceded and awarded. Italy are by far the most disciplined team with a ratio of 24 conceded to 46 awarded.
Ireland, by contrast, have a habit of getting on the wrong side of the referee. A ratio of 34/17 means they are conceding exactly double the amount penalties they are being awarded. Food for thought indeed.
Of course, championship leaders England hold a clear lead in the 'points scored' column while France will be concerned that they have conceded seven tries but have only scored five.
Most tackles made: Wales - 142
Most tackles missed: Scotland - 12
Most passes completed: Scotland - 192
Most line breaks: Ireland - 7
Most possession kicked: Wales - 26
Most turnovers won: England - 7
Most offloads in tackle: Italy - 17
Most errors made: France/Italy - 16
Most penalties conceded: Wales -15
Least tackles missed: France -1
Least errors made: Scotland/Ireland 11
Least penalties conceded: Scotland - 4
Overall after three rounds:
Most tackles made: Wales - 372
Most tackles missed: Scotland - 32
Most passes completed: Scotland - 594
Most line breaks: England -20
Most points scored (team): England - 102
Most points scored (player): Toby Flood - 35
Most tries scored (team): England - 11
Most tries scored (player): Chris Ashton - 6
Most possession kicked: Wales - 78
Most turnovers won: Ireland - 13
Most penalties conceded: Wales - 36
Most offloads in tackle: Scotland - 37
Most errors made: France/Ireland/Scotland - 32
Least tackles missed: England -11
Least errors made: Wales - 28
Least penalties conceded: Scotland - 22
Italy 16 - 24 Wales
There's no mystery why Italy lost in Rome. Just two successful kicks from six attempts from the tee. Missing two thirds of your shots at goal will leave you out to dry every time, especially at Test level.
Italy had plenty of possession and even more territory, but if you can't turn your opportunities into points....
Ten missed tackles by the Azzurri also helped Wales over the whitewash.
Minutes in possession:
Italy: 36mins, 23 sec
Wales: 36 mins, 48 sec
Minutes in opponents half (total):
Italy: 54mins, 22 sec
Wales: 41 mins, 6 sec
Ruck and drive v Ruck and pass:
Italy: 19 - 94
Wales: 21 - 59
Ball won in open play - in opposition 22 - in set pieces - in turnovers:
Italy: 116 - 25 - 29 - 1
Wales: 83 - 19 - 15 - 4
Possession kicked - Kicks to touch - Percentage kicks
Italy: 21 - 2 - 35%
Wales: 26 - 3 - 49%
Tackles made - tackles missed - tackle completion
Italy: 91- 10 - 90%
Wales: 142 - 5 - 96%
Total errors made - errors from kicks:
Italy: 16 - 4
Wales: 13 - 2
England 17-9 France
Very even stats reflect a very close game. France will regret missing two penalty kicks, but they really fell behind on the deck where England were allowed to get their hands on the ball too often.
Minutes in possession:
England: 17 mins, 49 sec
France: 22 mins
Minutes in opponents half (total):
England: 47 mins, 59 sec
France: 43 mins, 14 sec
Ruck and drive v Ruck and pass:
England: 24- 55
France: 11 - 60
Ball won in open play - in opposition 22 - in set pieces - in turnovers:
England: 81- 24- 25 - 7
France: 73 - 7 - 23 - 3
Possession kicked - Kicks to touch - Percentage kicks
England: 19 - 6 - 36%
France: 21 - 5 - 42%
Tackles made - tackles missed - tackle completion
England: 99 - 4 - 96%
France: 92 - 1 - 98%
Total errors made - errors from kicks:
England: 13 - 2
France: 16 - 3
Scotland 18-21 Ireland
Scotland had significantly more possession, yet couldn't score a try as Ireland punished their hosts for missing tackles.
Ronan O'Gara's contribution? Check the 'errors from kicks' column.
Minutes in possession:
Scotland: 31 mins, 25 sec
Ireland: 26 mins, 17 sec
Minutes in opponents half (total):
Scotland: 39 mins, 23 sec
Ireland: 43 mins 29 sec
Ruck and drive v Ruck and pass:
Scotland: 19 -74
Ireland: 11 -63
Ball won in open play - in opposition 22 - in set pieces - in turnovers:
Scotland: 98 -10 - 30 -1
Ireland: 76 - 23 - 14 - 5
Possession kicked - Kicks to touch - Percentage kicks
Scotland: 24 - 5 - 34%
Ireland: 24 - 11 - 40%
Tackles made - tackles missed - tackle completion
Scotland: 99 - 12 - 89%
Ireland: 122 - 5 - 96%
Total errors made - errors from kicks:
Scotland: 11 - 1
Ireland: 11 - 0
Comments
fatslowcentre says...
@blame the ref
I think you mentioned the root cause of the problem, too many players off their feet. It is something that winds me up at every level of the game. One of the junior regulations that were in effect when I was referring was that players had to approach a ruck with their heads higher than there hips, failing to do so was a penalty. Equally going off your feet at a breakdown (other than to tackle) should be a penalty. Then we can have quick ball, which should be the aim of the ruck.
The problem with allowing anyone to pick it up is that we will get interminable mauls punctuated by scrums for ball not coming out or everyone falling over in a heap for 79 minutes rather than any passing.
Posted 09:49 08th March 2011
blametheref says...
Fat Boy Ginge, whilst I don't profess to know the finer points of the rules as you do being a referee, it's this point that I'm trying to make, in that even the players cannot properly understand the rules and why there are too many infingements at ruck/maul and scrum. The rules should be simpler is my point.
When I said "junior rugby" I was referring to when I played in school and how I described was how the scrum formed and believe me it was a contest when both teams shoved and the ball was put in down the middle. What you got was at least 1 strike against the head per match usually caused by superior scrummaging/hooking by the team winning the strike. Also, there were many occasion if a strike wasn't clean and out the back the other team would win the ball by driving the other team back over the ball they thought they won. That is what the scrum is about in my opinion not the constant tactical foxing by front rows trying to force a penalty which is what it has become.
My point on the ruck is that it should be eliminated as a special facet of play. When do we see players actually ruck the ball with their feet? Hardly ever is the answer, all we see are players being penalised for handling in the ruck when the ball was plainly there for the taking by the player(s) who has got into that favourable position. How many times do we see a player get to a position legally when he can get the ball and the ref shouts "hands away" because it's a ruck or even calling a penalty if he touches the ball. This is stupid in my opinion. I believe a player should be able to pick up a ball any time he wants as long as he has arrived from onside and through the back of the ruck/maul...that is my point, get rid of the ruck, ruck if you want to but similarily handle if the opportunity presents itself.
Posted 16:52 06th March 2011
FatboyGinge says...
@blametheref
"Crouch, touch, pause, engage should be scrapped. Instead do as they do in junior rugby where the front rows engage, then the second rows, 8 and flankers attach, eliminating the hit. The referee should shout "scrum ok" and they can now shove, the ball must be fed immediately and down the middle"
No they don't in junior rugby. The packs form then the referee will call C.T.P.E. At U9 there is a 3 man UNCONTESTED scrum U10 is 3 man CONTESTED. U11 introduces the 2nd row, U12 the number 8 and when you get to Junior rugby at U13 then it's a full 15 a side. At Mini and Junior level the scrum is VERY tightly monitored and I have gone uncontested on several occasions when one pack is outclassed. Also the scrum can't be pushed more than 1.5 metres until you get to senior level.
The changes you're describing would virtually remove the scrum from a contest and you may as well take away the flankers and have 6 tackles before you turn the ball over to the opposition.
In the Eng v Fra match I thought the ref got it pretty much spot on. Remember we have the luxury of a different viewpoint as spectators. We al
Posted 19:09 05th March 2011
FatboyGinge says...
@Blametheref...
"Also, we see the tackler being penalized for not rolling away quick enough especially after 3 or 4 bodies have piled in (usually off their feet which is also disallowed)."
If he makes an attempt to roll away then that's fine. Again if the tackler makes NO ATTEMPT then it's the ref's judgement call and the sanction is a penalty.
"The law should be changed so that the tackled player must release the second he hits the deck, leaving it exactly where it's grounded, and then he and the tackler are out of play until they get to their feet and one other player arrives. In other words they cannot touch the ball or play or obstruct the the ball until one other player arrives to play the ball, whereon they can contnue playing by entering the play from an onside position. Any player on both feet should be allowed play the ball from the ground in any situation as long as he enters from onside and the back. Too many times we see players being penalized for getting through the ruck/maul picking up the ball and the ref blowing them up...because it was a ruck! Stupid law!! "
Have to disagree or there would chaos at the breakdown and that's dangerous. If the ref calls a ruck then all players know that it's hands off. When the player picks the ball up at the back of the ruck then the ruck is over and he's fair game for anyplayer onside. If you're in the ruck then you're out of the game.
Posted 19:08 05th March 2011
FatboyGinge says...
@Blametheref. Interesting post... As a ref though I need to take issue with a few things.
"The new laws are coming too ambiguous where they cannot be interperted with clarity by refs and the watching fans, for example"
Not so: The guidance is clear. If as a ref you know the laws then it's a matter of seeing whats happening and then applying the law. Too often the law is applied before play unfolds. That's advantage.
"Ball carrier is tackled and grounded and the law says the tackler must release his prey get on his feet or either roll away before he's allowed continue playing or he's infringing."
Perfectly correct. It's meant to stop a tackler preventing release of the ball. If you hold on, it's a penalty. I shout tackler roll away. If he doesn't he gets pinged Simple.
"Similarly, the tackled ball carrier must release the ball immediately (this means, leave it where he and ball rests)"
Not so. The tackled player must PLAY or RELEASE the ball upon being tackled to the ground and you are on the ground when a knee touches the ground. This gives the attacking team the opportunity to pass to a team mate off the ground or PLACE the ball back for a ruck to form
"What we see too many times is the tackled ball carrier, when released, get up again and continue on another run (with referee's saying "he wasn't held"??) or from the ground pass the ball back to a team mate, or hold on to the ball for about 2/3 seconds."
If the ball carrier is tackled but doesn't go to ground in the tackle he can carry on. If the tackler drops him to the ground without holding on it's not a tackle (NOT HELD) and he can get up and carry on. See above for the rest. It's the referee's judgement call as to if the player holds on to the ball in the tackle. If he makes NO attempt to release the ball by placing it or passing it then he is holding on and it's a penalty.
Posted 19:05 05th March 2011
blametheref says...
The new laws are coming too ambiguous where they cannot be interperted with clarity by refs and the watching fans, for example:
Ball carrier is tackled and grounded and the law says the tackler must release his prey get on his feet or either roll away before he's allowed continue playing or he's infringing. Similarly, the tackled ball carrier must release the ball immediately (this means, leave it where he and ball rests). What we see too many times is the tackled ball carrier, when released, get up again and continue on another run (with referee's saying "he wasn't held"??) or from the ground pass the ball back to a team mate, or hold on to the ball for about 2/3 seconds. Also, we see the tackler being penalized for not rolling away quick enough especially after 3 or 4 bodies have piled in (usually off their feet which is also disallowed).
The law should be changed so that the tackled player must release the second he hits the deck, leaving it exactly where it's grounded, and then he and the tackler are out of play until they get to their feet and one other player arrives. In other words they cannot touch the ball or play or obstruct the the ball until one other player arrives to play the ball, whereon they can contnue playing by entering the play from an onside position. Any player on both feet should be allowed play the ball from the ground in any situation as long as he enters from onside and the back. Too many times we see players being penalized for getting through the ruck/maul picking up the ball and the ref blowing them up...because it was a ruck! Stupid law!!
Crouch, touch, pause, engage should be scrapped. Instead do as they do in junior rugby where the front rows engage, then the second rows, 8 and flankers attach, eliminating the hit. The referee should shout "scrum ok" and they can now shove, the ball must be fed immediately and down the middle
Posted 12:37 04th March 2011
Saint_Andre91 says...
@lawyind
I am not contesting the result nor forgetting the decisions that went our way (by the way, I agree with you - there's no reason Ashton's try should not have been alllowed).
As we were talking statistics, I wanted to give some scrum statistics missing in the initial report and comment on them. Like it or not, the scrum and the way it is refereed nowadays is a disgrace.
Posted 09:17 04th March 2011
Bokswillprevail says...
I feel that the scrums have become too complicated and open to too many subjective decision options for the refs. This is getting worse in the S15, and will move into test rugga, as the 'touch, pause, ....wait, .....wait......, en.....wait, ......ennnnn.........wait......' rule was introduced. So many times this creates an additional reason to give a free kick or pen, b4 we even have the actual scrum! If this is not corrected, we may as well watch league, which is a girly sport anyhoo.
Posted 20:49 03rd March 2011
ogonda says...
The England-French game was not spectacular nor do the statistics reveal the true picture due to extremely poor refereeing. It is high time crucial clashes both country and Club level in the North are officiated by Southern Hemisphere referees.
Posted 12:16 03rd March 2011
lawynd says...
@Saint_Andre91 - don't forget that France were lucky that one perfectly good try was ruled out and another 50/50 try decision went your way...other than that, I agree with both of you. It's not the referee's who are at fault though, it's the IRB for not putting significant thought and effort into how to solve the problems associated with the set-piece.
Posted 12:05 03rd March 2011
Saint_Andre91 says...
@BoDiddly
Can't agree more!
Posted 09:06 03rd March 2011
BoDiddly says...
It appears to me that far too often are close matches won and lost on the fluctuating interpretation of the scrum by utterly inconsistent referees. The scrum, in its current state, is an absolute disgrace to the spirit of the game.
Posted 14:17 02nd March 2011
Saint_Andre91 says...
What about scrum statistics?
By my own count, France did concede a whopping 4 free kicks and 2 penalties out of scrums while England conceded only one (or was it two?) penalties and no free kick. However, whenever a scrum actually took place, it seemed to me that no side was having clear superiority on the other (even though you could argue that France often looked to have the better hand). That certainly helped England winning the possession and territory battle - not to mention saving the day for them on a couple of 5 meters scrums...
Posted 09:24 02nd March 2011