2012 Nations Statistical Report
Statistical Review & Match Analysis
NATIONS CUP 2012 STATISTICAL REVIEW AND MATCH ANALYSIS
IRB GAME ANALYSIS
Statistical Review & Match Analysis
CONTENTS Commentary Pool Standings, Results & Final Standings Overall Statistical Summary
Page 1 3 4
Statistical Analysis and Match Summary Scoring Try Scoring Tries Kicks at Goal Ball in Play Activity Cycles Restarts Lineouts Scrums Penalties Cards
5 6 7 9 10 11 14 14 15 15 16
The IRB Nations Cup continues to be a key element of the IRB’s global strategic investment programme. It serves a variety of objectives – it is an integral development tool for the participating unions, and is a vehicle for identifying players capable of performing at the highest levels of the game in the near or distant future. Detailed analysis reports are prepared on such competitions and the report that follows comprises an indepth statistical analysis of the 2012 IRB Nations Cup. Each report has similar objectives – it reflects the shape of the game and provides a basis whereby each participating country can compare its performance in major areas of the game with the other teams that played in the competition as well as being used to establish benchmarks and performance indicators for future tournaments.
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
COMMENTARY 2012 IRB Nations Cup was won by Romania. They won all three matches, inflicting defeats on Argentina Jaguars and Emerging Italy. Both these teams won their remaining two matches, each scoring 8 tries in the process. In terms of Romania’s performance: • • • • • • •
they had most possession in all three games they had the best defence together with Argentina Jaguars they did not concede a try in the first half of any game they had 100% conversion success they kicked the most penalty goals they had 100% success rate on own scrums – and was most successful on opponents ‘ scrums they were the second most successful team on opponents’ lineout
They also: • required almost twice as much possession as Argentina Jaguars and Emerging Italy to score each try • they had the least successful lineout – only one team suffered more lineout steals • they conceded the most yellow cards - 3 Argentina Jaguars beat Russia and Portugal but lost to Romania • • • • • • • • •
they scored most points – 32 points per game they were the highest passing team they had the best defence – conceding 14 points per game they were one of only two teams to score more tries than penalties they had most successful kick at goal percentage they kicked the least and at the lowest rate they retained 5 of 8 short restarts they were most successful on opponents’ lineout they were the least penalised team , receiving twice as many penalties as their opponents
Emerging Italy also beat Russia and Portugal but lost to Romania • • • • • • • •
they had the best try scoring rate they were one of only two teams to score more tries than penalties five of the seven tries conceded contained no second phase they conceded five of their six tries in first half their forwards were the most likely to pass the ball they were a high passing team with 46 passing movements with more than 2 passes they lost most lineout steals – 12 they had least successful scrum on own and opponents put in
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PAGE 1
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
Uruguay beat Portugal but lost to Romania and Russia. • • • • • • • • •
they had the lowest possession of any team in their three games , their opponents had between 33% and 86% more possession they made few passes - almost 100 fewer passes per game than Argentina Jaguars they had only 17 passing movements with more than 2 passes – Emerging Italy had 46 they had the least successful kick at goal percentage they attempted and kicked the only drop goal in the tournament their forwards were the least likely to pass the ball they kicked at highest rate they were the least successful team on opposition lineout
Russia beat Uruguay but lost to Argentina Jaguars and Emerging Italy • • • • • • • •
they had highest total possession they had highest rucking rate together with Portugal , they had the most successful own lineout they attempted only 4 penalty kicks at goal they scored 5 of their 6 tries in the first half they scored no tries from inside own half, but four from six from within opponent’s 22 they won 10 lineout steals – more than any other team they were the most penalised team
Portugal lost all three matches • • • • • • • • •
they scored the least points – 12 per game they had the worst defence, conceding 35 points per game they conceded a try every 3min42s; Jaguars conceded a try every 23min09s they were the only team whose forwards scored more tries than backs they conceded 4 tries from turnovers – more than other 5 teams combined they conceded 8 tries from inside opponents’ half only one of their 3 tries contained a pass they were only team to kick most restarts short and regained possession only once they were however, together with Russia, the most successful on own lineout
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PAGE 2
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
STANDINGS P
W D
L
PF
PA
TF
TA
BP
PTS
ROMANIA
3
3
0
0
69
43
6
3
0
12
ARG JAGUARS
3
2
0
1
95
41
10
2
2
10
EM ITALY
3
2
0
1
74
55
9
7
2
10
URUGUAY
3
1
0
2
57
55
5
6
2
6
RUSSIA
3
1
0
2
45
79
6
9
0
4
PORTUGAL
3
0
0
3
37
104
3
12
1
1
P=Played W=Won D=Draw L=Lost PF=Points For PA=Points Against TF=Tries For TA=Tries Against BP=Bonus Points PTS=Points
RESULTS ROMANIA
29 - 9
URUGUAY
RUSSIA
17- 33
EM ITALY
PORTUGAL
9 - 41
ARG JAGUARS
PORTUGAL
21 - 28
EM ITALY
ROMANIA
23 - 21
ARG JAGUARS
RUSSIA
19 - 13
URUGUAY
RUSSIA
9 - 33
ARG JAGUARS
PORTUGAL
7 - 35
URUGUAY
ROMANIA
17 - 13
EM ITALY
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PAGE 3
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
OVERALL STATISTICAL SUMMARY The following data comes from the detailed report that follows and reflects, in summary form, the shape of the 2012 IRB Nations Cup. The comparative column comprises data from this year’s Six Nations. The were few differences between the two competitions – tries were fewer and penalty goals greater in Six Nations; ball in play was higher which accounts for the greater number of passes, rucks and kicks - ,and the possession source of tries showed a different mix.
Avg POINTS per match Avg TRIES per match Avg PENALTY GOALS per match DROP GOALS % of points from TRIES
2012 NATIONS 44 4.3 4.3 1 in 9 matches 52%
2012 6 NATIONS 36 3.1 5.1 3 in 15 matches 43%
% of Tries scored by BACKS % of Tries scored by FORWARDS PENALTY TRIES
67% 31% 1
85% 13% 1
MATCHES with points margin of 20 or less MATCHES won by team scoring most tries MATCHES where tries were equal MATCHES won by team scoring least tries
6 of 9 8 of 9 1 none
12 of 15 12 of 15 2 1
CONVERSION success % PENALTY GOAL success % DROP GOAL success %
80% 61% 1 of 1
74% 72% 3 in 20
% of tries scored from LINEOUT % of tries scored from SCRUM % of tries scored from PENALTY/FREE KICKS % of tries scored from TURNOVER/ERROR % of tries scored from OPPONENTS KICKS % of tries scored from RESTARTS
26% 26% 8% 17% 13% 10%
33% 11% 15% 26% 9% 6%
Avg PASSES per match Avg KICKS per match Avg RUCKS/MAULS per match RUCK/MAUL success %
220 33 140 91%
268 46 181 93%
32min 02s =40%
38min 12s = 48%
% of all PASSES MADE BY BACKS % of all PASSES MADE BY SCRUM HALF % of all PASSES MADE BY FORWARDS
16% 47% 37%
17% 49% 34%
Avg LINEOUTS per match LINEOUT success % Avg SCRUMS per match SCRUM success %
23 81% 19 92%
23 83% 14 85%
23 0 red – 10 yellow
21 0 red – 13 yellow
Avg BALL IN PLAY TIME
Avg PENALTIES/FREE KICKS per match Total YELLOW and RED CARDS
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
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Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
1.0 SCORING There were 377 points scored in the 9 matches played, giving an average of 44 points per match. They were made up as follows: Type of Score
Points Makeup
Total
Points
31 8 39 1
217 40 117 3 377
Converted Tries Unconverted Tries Penalty Goals Drop Goals Total
% Tries Penalty Goals Conversions Drop Goals
52% 31 16 1
1.1 WINNING MARGINS The winning margins in each of the 6 matches fell into the following ranges: Points Difference at PNC 2012 Points Difference 0– 5 6 – 10 11 – 20 21 – 30 31 - 40 40+
No of matches
2 2 2 2 1
Cumulative 2012 5 points or less = 22% 10 points or less = 44% 20 points or less = 66% 30 points or less = 88% 40 points or less = 100%
Not surprisingly, points scored and conceded varied considerably, with the total and average points scored and conceded by each team shown below: Points for 2012 2012 NC NC
Points against 2012 2012 NC NC
TOTAL
AVERAGE
TOTAL
AVERAGE
JAGUARS
95
32
41
14
EM ITALY
74 69 57 45 37
25 23 19 15 12
55 43 55 79 104
18 14 18 26 35
ROMANIA URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
1.2 PENALTY GOALS There were 39 penalty goals kicked in the tournament, an average of 4.3 per match. This year, only two teams scored more tries than penalty goals – Jaguars and Emerging Italy.
EM ITALY JAGUARS ROMANIA URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
Penalties Goals Scored 5
Penalties Goals Conceded 4
Ratio PGs : Tries 1:1.8
9 9 7 3 6
9 7 5 6 8
1:1.1 1:0.7 1:0.7 1:0.5 1:0.5
PAGE 5
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
1.3 IMPACT OF THE PENALTY GOAL ON MATCH RESULTS Average Tries per game Most Tries in one game Least Tries in one game
Tries still win matches. In the Nations Cup 2012, the winning team scored the most tries in 8 of the 9 matches or in 89%
2012 NATIONS 4.3 8 2
In one matches tries were equal.
2.0 TRY SCORING There were 39 tries scored at IRB Nations Cup 2012. The total number of tries, penalty goals and drop goals scored by each country at IRB Nations Cup 2012 is as follows:
RUSSIA EM ITALY JAGUARS URUGUAY PORTUGAL ROMANIA
Tries
Conversions
6 9
3 7
Penalty Goals 3 5
10 5 3 6
9 4 2 6
9 7 6 9
Drop Goals
% of points from Kicks 33% 39%
53% 44% 41% 36%
47% 56% 59% 64%
1
2.1 RATE OF TRY SCORING An earlier table shows the number of tries scored by each country.The table does not show however, how effective each team was in scoring tries in relation to the possession that it obtained. A team may obtain little possession but still manage to score a significant number of tries. The following paragraphs consider this and attempt to show how successful each team was in converting possession into tries.
% of points from Tries 67% 61%
Total Tries Scored EM ITALY
9
JAGUARS
10 5 6 6 3
URUGUAY ROMANIA RUSSIA PORTUGAL
Try scoring rate 2012 NATIONS 1 try scored every 5min 09secs 5min 21secs 7min 09secs 9min 16secs 9min 30secs 13min 25secs
This was done by adding together the time each team was in possession of the ball in each of the matches played, and then dividing it by the number of tries scored. The result then gave a rate of try scoring – or a measure of how effective each country was in converting possession into tries. 2.2 RATE OF TRY CONCEDING
Following the above exercise, the converse was looked at, i.e. how effective was each team in restricting tries in relation to the possession that their opponents obtained. The following paragraph tries to measure this by illustrating how successful each team was in preventing their opposition from converting possession into tries.
JAGUARS ROMANIA URUGUAY EM ITALY RUSSIA
Total tries conceded 2 3 6 7 9 12
Try conceding rate 2012 NATIONS 23min 09secs 14min 45secs 9min 19secs 7min 14secs 5min 13secs 3min 42secs
PORTUGAL This was done by adding together the total time the team’s opponents were in possession of the ball and then dividing it by the number of tries conceded. The result then gave a rate of try scoring by the opposition. There were noticeable contrasts. Whereas Jaguar’s opponents required an average of over 23 minutes possession to score a try, Portugal’s required just over three minutes.
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
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Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
2.3 PLAYERS AND TRIES It has been noted above that there were 39 tries scored in the 9 matches: There were 26 tries, or 67% scored by backs and 12 tries, or 31%, scored by forwards, There was one penalty try. The breakdown between the 12 competing teams is shown in the table below. Portugal was the only teams whose forwards scored more tries than their backs.
JAGUARS EM ITALY ROMANIA RUSSIA URUGUAY PORTUGAL
Total 10
Tries by Backs 6
Tries by Forwards 4
9 6 6 5 3
8 4 4 3 1
1 1+1p/t 2 2 2
3.0 TRIES 3.1 SOURCE OF TRIES The teams scoring the tries obtained possession of the ball prior to the scoring of the try from a variety of sources..
The source of possession from which each team’s tries were scored was as follows: Total Pen/ Lineout Scrum Scored FK JAGUARS 10 2 2 1 EM ITALY ROMANIA RUSSIA URUGUAY PORTUGAL
9 6 6 5 3
2 1 2 2 1
1 4 2
Lineout – Own Scrum –Own Turnover/Handling Error Opponents Kick Penalty/Free Kick Restart – own and opp Lineout - Opp Scrum – Opp Total
Kick
1
2012 NATIONS 10 9 7 5 3 4 1 39
Turnover
Restart
2
3
2
1
2 1
1
1 1 1
2 1
The next table shows the possession source from which their opponent’s tries came:
JAGUARS ROMANIA URUGUAY EM ITALY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
Total Conceded 2 3 6 7 9 12
Lineout
Scrum
2 2 3 3
2 1 2 3 1 1
Pen/ FK
Kick
Turnover
Restart
1
1 1 1 4
2 2
2 1
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
2 2
PAGE 7
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
3.2 ORIGIN OF TRIES The try origin is that point on the pitch where the team scoring last obtained possession before scoring a try. Tries originated from various parts of the pitch: 33% of the tries originated in the scoring team’s own half. 21% of tries were from between the opponent’s halfway to 10-metre line. 10% of tries were from between the opponent’s 10-metre to 22-metre line. 36% of tries were from between the opponent’s 22-metre line to try line. The following table provides the try origin data for each team’s tries.
JAGUARS EM ITALY ROMANIA RUSSIA URUGUAY PORTUGAL
Total Scored 10
Own Half 4
Halfway to 10m 2
9 6 6 5 3
4 1
3
10m to 22m 2
2 3 4 2 1
2 2
3 1
22m to Try-line 2
1
The following table provides the converse to the above (i.e. it shows, for each team, the origin of all tries conceded). Portugal’s opponents scored 67% of their tries from inside their own half. Of 13 tries scored from within the scoring team’s own half, 8 were conceded by Portuugal.
ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
3.3
Total Conceded 3 2
Opp Half 1
7 6 9 12
1 1 2 8
Halfway to 10m
10m to 22m
22m to Try-line 2
2 2 1 4 1
4 4 2 2
1 4
BUILD-UP TO TRIES
Possession of the ball that leads to tries is obtained from a number of sources. More often than not, other actions – second phase, kicks and passes – take place before the try is scored. The tables below show the number of rucks and mauls (second phase) and the number of passes that preceded each of the 39 tries scored in NC2012. The first table shows that 77% of tries were preceded by three or fewer second phases.
Build Up to Tries – Ruck /Mauls
0 R/Ms 1 R/Ms 2 R/Ms 3 R/Ms 4 R/Ms 5 R/Ms 6 R/Ms 7+ R/Ms Total
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
Number
%
14 7 5 4 3 3 1 2 39
36% 18% 13% 10% 8% 8% 3% 4% 100%
Cumulative % 36% 54% 67% 77%
PAGE 8
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
Build Up to Tries – Passes
The second table shows that 51% of tries were preceded by three or fewer passes.
Number
%
6 4 2 8 7 2 1 9 39
15% 10% 5% 21% 18% 5% 3% 23|% 100%
0 pass 1 pass 2 passes 3 passes 4 passes 5 passes 6 passes 7+ passes Total
The above percentages were not figures that were consistently seen throughout all teams, e.g. only one of Portugal’s three tries contained a pass.
3.5 TIMING OF SCORES
Cumulative % 15% 25% 30% 51%
There was a difference between the time when tries were scored and the time when penalty goals were kicked. While 45% of tries were scored in the first half, the first-half penalty goal count was 69%. Emerging Italy conceded 5 of their 6 tries in the first half. Romania did not concede a try in the first half of their matches. The following table breaks down these figures further and shows the halves in which teams scored tries and penalty goals, and the halves which they conceded tries and penalty goals. st
ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
1 Half Tries scored 2 2
nd
2
Half Tries scored 3 8
4 3 5 1
Tries st 1 Half Tries conceded
5 2 1 2
nd
2
st
1
Half Tries conceded 3 1
1 Half PGs Scored 6 7
5 2 4 5
1 4 5 7
3 4 3 4
Penalty goals st Half 1 Half PGs PGs Scored conceded 3 5 2 7 nd
nd
2
2 3 0 2
2
Half PGs conceded 2 2
3 3 4 5
1 2 2 3
4.0 KICKS AT GOAL 2012 NATIONS
Kicking success rates were as follows: The kicking success for penalty goals, conversions and drop goals of each of the participating countries is shown below.
Conversions
80%
Penalty goals
61%
The table gives the kicking success rate of each participating team. Drop goals 1 of 1 However, the percentages should only be regarded as indicative since success depends on a number of factors. Some tries are scored near the touchline – others under the post. Furthermore, when few kicks at goal are taken, the success, or failure, of relatively few can have a disproportionate effect on percentages. Certain teams may take tap penalties, scrums and lineouts instead of kickable penalties. Other Conversion Penalty Overall Drop goal teams may choose to kick for Success Success Success % Success goal whenever three points are ROMANIA 9 of 15 71% 6 of 6 0 of 0 more or less guaranteed. The 9 of 10 9 of 12 82% 0 of 0 JAGUARS table should therefore be looked 7 of 9 5 of 8 71% 0 of 0 EM ITALY at within such potential constraints. There was one successful drop goal from one attempts.
URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
4 of 5 3 of 6 2 of 3
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
7 of 16 3 of 4 6 of 9
52% 60% 67%
1 of 1 0 of 0 0 of 0 PAGE 9
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
5.0 BALL IN PLAY In percentage terms, NC 2012 matches produced an average ball in play time of 32mins 02secs (40%) The following table shows the ball in play percentage and time for each match and it also includes how much possession (%) was obtained by each team in the 30 matches. It can be seen that the winning team had most possession in 7, or 78%, of the 9 matches as highlighted in orange below.
Average B-I-P per match Highest B-I-P in one match Lowest B-I-Pin one match
BALL IN PLAY % 47% 46% 43% 42% 41% 40% 36% 34% 32%
BALL IN PLAY TIME 37min 17secs 37min 02secs 34min 10secs 33min 32secs 32min 43secs 37min 03secs 29min 04secs 27min 00secs 25min 35secs
WINNING TEAM Romania Russia Arg Jags Romania Russia Arg Jags Romania Em Italy Portugal
% 55% 65% 53% 53% 52% 61% 60% 51% 57%
LOSING TEAM Em Italy Uruguay Russia Arg Jags Em Italy Portugal Uruguay Portugal Uruguay
The table attached is a summary of the previous table, showing the overall average possession time obtained by all 12 teams. It can be seen that both Romania and Russia obtained over 50% more possession than Uruguay.
RUSSIA ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY PORTUGAL URUGUAY
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
2012 NATIONS 32mins 02secs 40% 37mins 17secs 47% 27mins 00secs 34% % 45% 35% 47% 47% 48% 39% 40% 49% 43% 2012 NATIONS 19min 00secs 18min 31secs 17min 49secs 15min 27secs 13min 25secs 11min 54secs
PAGE 10
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
6.0 ACTIVITY CYCLES Activity cycles comprise passes, ruck/mauls, and kicks. Passes Rucks/Mauls Kicks
6.1 PASSING
2012 NATIONS 220 140 33
Matches, on average, contained 220 passes 2012 NATIONS Average Passes per match
220
Most Passes in one match Least Passes in one match
290 143
The next tables show the average passes per match per team. Again, there were noticeable differences between the 6 teams, with Jaguars making almost three times more passes per game than Uruguay. However, a team may make more passes than another because it had more possession and this was the case when comparing Jaguars and Uruguay. Apart from having more possession, Jaguars also passed at a far higher rate, i.e. they made more passes per minute’s possession. As well as showing the average number of passes, the tables show the average number of passes per minute’s possession, i.e. the rate of passing.
JAGUARS
Average Passes 2012 NATIONS 148
JAGUARS
Passes per Minute 2012 NATIONS 8.3
RUSSIA
133
EM ITALY
7.7
EM ITALY
119 110 97 53
PORTUGAL
7.3 7.0 5.9 4.4
ROMANIA PORTUGAL URUGUAY
RUSSIA ROMANIA URUGUAY
The following table shows the average number of passes per country per match, together with the most in a match and the least in a match, and the difference between the most and the least.
JAGUARS RUSSIA EM ITALY ROMANIA PORTUGAL URUGUAY
Average
Most
Least
148 133 119 110 97 53
173 146 133 126 114 63
107 117 106 93 78 43
Difference between most and least 66 29 27 33 36 20
6.2 PLAYER PASSING Total passes made in the Championship were broken down into three groups: • Passes made by forwards • Passes made by the scrum half • Passes made by backs
Percentage made by forwards Percentage made by scrum half Percentage made by backs
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
2012 NATIONS 16% 47% 37%
PAGE 11
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
Overall, the percentages for each of the three groups are shown in the table below. All the passes made by each country at NC 2012 have been divided into these three groups, and are shown in the adjacent table.
JAGUARS RUSSIA EM ITALY
Total Passes 445 398 358
ROMANIA PORTUGAL
Passes by Forwards 68 54 66 56 44 26
329 292 158
Passes by Scrum half 195 220 141 158 141 70
Passes by Backs 182 124 151 115 107 62
What the previous table shows URUGUAY is the number of passes made by the three groups of players. It simply shows how active they were in passing the ball. Jaguar’s backs, for example, made three times as many passes as Uruguay’s. The following table takes this further. It shows the proportion of a team’s passes made by each group. In other words, of all the passes made by a team, what proportion were made by the forwards, what proportion by the scrum half, and what proportion by the backs? Such tables can show if certain teams use forwards more as suppliers of the ball for onward transmission by the backs, rather than the forwards themselves being more involved in the distribution process. % by % by % by Forwards Scrum Half Backs The table shows that while Russia’s forwards ROMANIA made twice as many passes as Uruguay’s, as a 48% 35% 17% proportion of total team passes, Uruguay’s 15% 44% 41% JAGUARS forwards made proportionately more. The 18% 39% 42% EM ITALY percentages for each participating country are URUGUAY 16% 45% 39% shown in the adjacent table. RUSSIA 14% 55% 31% PORTUGAL 15% 48% 37% The next table shows the number of times each countries’ forwards had the ball in their hands and then notes the number of times they passed it. This is expressed as a ratio so that if a team’s forwards passed the ball 20 times having received it 100 times, the ratio would be expressed as one to five, i.e. one pass for every five possessions. Again, the table shows the differences between various countries, with Emerging Italy’s forwards being the forwards most likely to pass the ball and Uruguay’s the least likely to pass the ball.
ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
2012 NATIONS 1 in 3.6 1 in 3.4 1 in 2.3 1 in 4.1 1 in 3.9 1 in 3.8
This difference between the forwards of each country is even more graphically illustrated when the forwards are broken down into the three groups of front row, second row and back row. This time the relationship between passes and possession is expressed in percentage terms, so that if a group of forwards received the ball 20 times and passed it six times, it means they passed it on 30% of occasions. The front row, second row and back row passing percentages for each team are shown in the following tables: Front Row 2012 NC
Second Row 2012 NC
Back Row 2012 NC
EM ITALY
46%
JAGUARS
32%
EM ITALY
47%
URUGUAY
34%
EM ITALY
29%
JAGUARS
35%
ROMANIA
30% 19% 19% 18%
ROMANIA
24% 24% 24% 15%
RUSSIA
34% 30% 29% 21%
PORTUGAL RUSSIA JAGUARS
PORTUGAL URUGUAY RUSSIA
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PORTUGAL ROMANIA URUGUAY
PAGE 12
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
6.3 PASSING MOVEMENTS Passes are grouped into passing movements, i.e. one pass movement, two pass movements and so on. The data shows that some 82% of all passing movements contained two passes or less. There were, however, clear differences between the various countries as shown in the table
ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY
% of passing movements with 2 or fewer passes 2012 NATIONS 86% 81% 74% 82% 89% 80%
URUGUAY
The data also shows that Uruguay had a total of 17 passing movements with more than two passes. Emerging Italy had 46.
RUSSIA PORTUGAL
2012 NATIONS
6.4 RUCKS/MAULS Matches, on average, contained 140 rucks/mauls
Average R/Ms per game
140
Most R/Ms in one game Least R/Ms in one game
168 101
The adjacent table indicates the total number of rucks/mauls created by each team in the competition expressed as an average per match. Just as in the case of passes, however, the number of rucks and mauls made by one team may be constrained because it obtained only limited possession of the ball. In order to address this, an alternative calculation has been made which relates the number of rucks/mauls to the share of ball-in-play time won by each team. This is expressed in the number of rucks created for every minutes’ possession obtained by a team and is also shown in the below table.
EM ITALY
Average Rucks 2012 NATIONS 93 88 82 59 55
URUGUAY
43
RUSSIA JAGUARS ROMANIA PORTUGAL
URUGUAY
Ruck/mauls per minute 2012 NATIONS 4.9 4.9 4.6 4.4 3.6
EM ITALY
3.5
JAGUARS RUSSIA ROMANIA PORTUGAL
6.5 BREAKDOWN RETENTION At the breakdown, the team taking in the ball retained possession by either winning the ball or being awarded a penalty on 91% of occasions. 2012 NATIONS The percentage success rate for almost all teams was similar and is ROMANIA 90% shown in the adjacent table. 95% JAGUARS 93% EM ITALY URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
87% 90% 91%
PAGE 13
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
2012 NATIONS 33 45 21
6.6 KICKING Average Kicks per game Most Kicks in one game Least Kicks in one game
Each country’s average is shown in the adjacent table.
When an adjustment is made to take account of possession obtained by each team, then the kicking table changes slightly. It shows that while Romania was the highest kicking team, it kicked at the third highest rate. The table below includes the average number of kicks per team per minute’s possession.
ROMANIA EM ITALY RUSSIA PORTUGAL URUGUAY JAGUARS
Average Kicks 2012 NATIONS 20 19 19 15 15 10
URUGUAY EM ITALY ROMANIA PORTUGAL RUSSIA JAGUARS
Kicks per minute 2012 NATIONS 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.0 0.6
7.0 RESTARTS Of 50-metre restarts, 68% were kicked long while 32% were kicked short and were contestable. When all restarts were kicked short, the kicking team regained possession on one in three occasions. The table shows the type of restart kicked by each team at 50-metre and retention rates of short restarts.
9 8
5 6
Retention rate 3 of 5 5 of 8
12 10 14 10
2 2 3 11
0 of 2 1 of 2 1 of 3 1 of 12
Long ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY
Short
RUSSIA It can be seen that there was a major contrast between PORTUGAL many of the teams. While all teams kicked more long than short, some countries kicked long on almost all their restarts while others kicked long less frequently. The most effective teams in retaining all short restarts are also shown.
The most successful team at regaining restarts was Jaguars.
8.0 LINEOUTS The average number of lineouts per game was 23. The most lineouts in a match was 27, the least 16.
Average no per game Percentage competed Possession retained
2012 NATIONS 23 37% 81%
All teams had high success rates on their own throw while rates of success on opponents throw-ins showed more variation. Lineout success on own throw and opposition throw are shown in the following table. It also highlights lineout steals, i.e. those lost on own throw-in and those won on opponent’s throw-in. Portugal and Russia had the highest overall percentage success rate on their own throw-in and Jaguars had the most success on opposition throw-ins. Success %
PORTUGAL RUSSIA JAGUARS URUGUAY ROMANIA EM ITALY
Own Throw 93% 92% 84% 78% 72% 68%
Opp Throw 18% 26% 36% 2% 28% 16%
Lineout Steals Lost on Own Throw 2 2 5 5 9 12
Won on Opp Throw 6 10 7 1 6 5
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
Not straight / Pen/FK / Knock-on Own Opp Throw Throw 1 1 1 1 3 1 2 1 1
PAGE 14
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
9.0 SCRUMS The average number of scrums per game was 19. Average no per game Possession retained
The most scrums in a game was 22, the least 15.
2012 NATIONS 19 92%
Scrum ball retention was relatively high for all teams, Romania retained possession on all 29 put-ins. With such high percentage of possession retained, it is no surprise that heels against the head were few and far between. In total there were 4 in 170 scrums or one in 43. The table below shows the tight heads won and lost by each country.
ROMANIA URUGUAY PORTUGAL JAGUARS RUSSIA EM ITALY
Scrum Success % Own Opposition Feed Feed 16% 100% 93% 12% 93% 7% 92% 5% 90% 4% 86% 0%
Heels against the head Lost on Own Won on Feed Opposition Feed 3 1 1 1 2 -
Of all scrum penalties, over 81% were awarded to the team putting in the ball.
10.0 PENALTIES / FREE KICKS In NC 2012, the average number of penalties and free kicks awarded in a match was 23. This reflected a spread of between 28 and 18 per match. Average no per game Most Pens/FKs in one game Least Pens/FKs in one game
2012 NATIONS 23 28 18
The following table comprises the total penalties awarded to, and conceded by, each team. However, because the number of penalties can vary from match to match, a better measure is the proportion of penalties conceded by a team in all their matches compared with their opponents. This shows that Jaguars were the least penalised team in relation to their opponents while Russia was the most penalised.
JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY PORTUGAL ROMANIA RUSSIA
Pens/FKs For and Against Pen/FK Pen/FK For Against 42 22 33 41 31 34 28
32 39 37 42 37
Proportion of Pens/FKs % Pen/FK % Pen/FK For Against 66% 34% 51% 49% 51% 46% 45% 43%
49% 54% 55% 57%
Of the penalties and free kicks awarded, teams took some 17% as tap penalties. The differences between the teams, however, were noticeable. While overall teams took an average of 6 tap penalties in the tournament, Romania tapped only once and Jaguars tapped on 11 occasions.
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Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
10.1 CATEGORIES OF OFFENCES PENALISED The following table groups the penalties awarded into nine categories and these are as follows:
11.0 CARDS – YELLOW & RED
Ruck/tackle on ground Offside Scrum Dangerous tackle Other Lineout Obstruction Foul play Maul
% 53% 14% 22% 2% 2% 1% 4% 1% 1%
There were no red cards issued There were 10 yellow cards issued during the Championship, an average of one per match. Of the nine matches, there were five which contained at least one card, meaning four did not contain a single yellow card. 2012 NATIONS
The most yellow cards in one match were three (ARG JAG v ROM). The table adjacent shows the breakdown of yellow cards per team, including reasons.
ROMANIA
3
EM ITALY
2
URUGUAY
2
JAGUARS
1 1 1
RUSSIA PORTUGAL
Yellow Card Reasons 1 x Ruck 1 x Foul Play 1 x Dangerous Tackle 2 x Dangerous Tackle 1 x Ruck 1 x Deliberate Knock on 1 x Foul Play 1 x Foul Play 1 x Scrum
Overall, the reasons for yellow cards were as follows:
Dangerous Tackle Ruck Foul Play Scrum Deliberate knock on Total
2012 NATIONS 3 2 3 1 1 10
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PAGE 16
NATIONS CUP 2012 STATISTICAL REVIEW AND MATCH ANALYSIS
IRB GAME ANALYSIS
Statistical Review & Match Analysis
CONTENTS Commentary Pool Standings, Results & Final Standings Overall Statistical Summary
Page 1 3 4
Statistical Analysis and Match Summary Scoring Try Scoring Tries Kicks at Goal Ball in Play Activity Cycles Restarts Lineouts Scrums Penalties Cards
5 6 7 9 10 11 14 14 15 15 16
The IRB Nations Cup continues to be a key element of the IRB’s global strategic investment programme. It serves a variety of objectives – it is an integral development tool for the participating unions, and is a vehicle for identifying players capable of performing at the highest levels of the game in the near or distant future. Detailed analysis reports are prepared on such competitions and the report that follows comprises an indepth statistical analysis of the 2012 IRB Nations Cup. Each report has similar objectives – it reflects the shape of the game and provides a basis whereby each participating country can compare its performance in major areas of the game with the other teams that played in the competition as well as being used to establish benchmarks and performance indicators for future tournaments.
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
COMMENTARY 2012 IRB Nations Cup was won by Romania. They won all three matches, inflicting defeats on Argentina Jaguars and Emerging Italy. Both these teams won their remaining two matches, each scoring 8 tries in the process. In terms of Romania’s performance: • • • • • • •
they had most possession in all three games they had the best defence together with Argentina Jaguars they did not concede a try in the first half of any game they had 100% conversion success they kicked the most penalty goals they had 100% success rate on own scrums – and was most successful on opponents ‘ scrums they were the second most successful team on opponents’ lineout
They also: • required almost twice as much possession as Argentina Jaguars and Emerging Italy to score each try • they had the least successful lineout – only one team suffered more lineout steals • they conceded the most yellow cards - 3 Argentina Jaguars beat Russia and Portugal but lost to Romania • • • • • • • • •
they scored most points – 32 points per game they were the highest passing team they had the best defence – conceding 14 points per game they were one of only two teams to score more tries than penalties they had most successful kick at goal percentage they kicked the least and at the lowest rate they retained 5 of 8 short restarts they were most successful on opponents’ lineout they were the least penalised team , receiving twice as many penalties as their opponents
Emerging Italy also beat Russia and Portugal but lost to Romania • • • • • • • •
they had the best try scoring rate they were one of only two teams to score more tries than penalties five of the seven tries conceded contained no second phase they conceded five of their six tries in first half their forwards were the most likely to pass the ball they were a high passing team with 46 passing movements with more than 2 passes they lost most lineout steals – 12 they had least successful scrum on own and opponents put in
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PAGE 1
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
Uruguay beat Portugal but lost to Romania and Russia. • • • • • • • • •
they had the lowest possession of any team in their three games , their opponents had between 33% and 86% more possession they made few passes - almost 100 fewer passes per game than Argentina Jaguars they had only 17 passing movements with more than 2 passes – Emerging Italy had 46 they had the least successful kick at goal percentage they attempted and kicked the only drop goal in the tournament their forwards were the least likely to pass the ball they kicked at highest rate they were the least successful team on opposition lineout
Russia beat Uruguay but lost to Argentina Jaguars and Emerging Italy • • • • • • • •
they had highest total possession they had highest rucking rate together with Portugal , they had the most successful own lineout they attempted only 4 penalty kicks at goal they scored 5 of their 6 tries in the first half they scored no tries from inside own half, but four from six from within opponent’s 22 they won 10 lineout steals – more than any other team they were the most penalised team
Portugal lost all three matches • • • • • • • • •
they scored the least points – 12 per game they had the worst defence, conceding 35 points per game they conceded a try every 3min42s; Jaguars conceded a try every 23min09s they were the only team whose forwards scored more tries than backs they conceded 4 tries from turnovers – more than other 5 teams combined they conceded 8 tries from inside opponents’ half only one of their 3 tries contained a pass they were only team to kick most restarts short and regained possession only once they were however, together with Russia, the most successful on own lineout
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PAGE 2
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
STANDINGS P
W D
L
PF
PA
TF
TA
BP
PTS
ROMANIA
3
3
0
0
69
43
6
3
0
12
ARG JAGUARS
3
2
0
1
95
41
10
2
2
10
EM ITALY
3
2
0
1
74
55
9
7
2
10
URUGUAY
3
1
0
2
57
55
5
6
2
6
RUSSIA
3
1
0
2
45
79
6
9
0
4
PORTUGAL
3
0
0
3
37
104
3
12
1
1
P=Played W=Won D=Draw L=Lost PF=Points For PA=Points Against TF=Tries For TA=Tries Against BP=Bonus Points PTS=Points
RESULTS ROMANIA
29 - 9
URUGUAY
RUSSIA
17- 33
EM ITALY
PORTUGAL
9 - 41
ARG JAGUARS
PORTUGAL
21 - 28
EM ITALY
ROMANIA
23 - 21
ARG JAGUARS
RUSSIA
19 - 13
URUGUAY
RUSSIA
9 - 33
ARG JAGUARS
PORTUGAL
7 - 35
URUGUAY
ROMANIA
17 - 13
EM ITALY
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PAGE 3
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
OVERALL STATISTICAL SUMMARY The following data comes from the detailed report that follows and reflects, in summary form, the shape of the 2012 IRB Nations Cup. The comparative column comprises data from this year’s Six Nations. The were few differences between the two competitions – tries were fewer and penalty goals greater in Six Nations; ball in play was higher which accounts for the greater number of passes, rucks and kicks - ,and the possession source of tries showed a different mix.
Avg POINTS per match Avg TRIES per match Avg PENALTY GOALS per match DROP GOALS % of points from TRIES
2012 NATIONS 44 4.3 4.3 1 in 9 matches 52%
2012 6 NATIONS 36 3.1 5.1 3 in 15 matches 43%
% of Tries scored by BACKS % of Tries scored by FORWARDS PENALTY TRIES
67% 31% 1
85% 13% 1
MATCHES with points margin of 20 or less MATCHES won by team scoring most tries MATCHES where tries were equal MATCHES won by team scoring least tries
6 of 9 8 of 9 1 none
12 of 15 12 of 15 2 1
CONVERSION success % PENALTY GOAL success % DROP GOAL success %
80% 61% 1 of 1
74% 72% 3 in 20
% of tries scored from LINEOUT % of tries scored from SCRUM % of tries scored from PENALTY/FREE KICKS % of tries scored from TURNOVER/ERROR % of tries scored from OPPONENTS KICKS % of tries scored from RESTARTS
26% 26% 8% 17% 13% 10%
33% 11% 15% 26% 9% 6%
Avg PASSES per match Avg KICKS per match Avg RUCKS/MAULS per match RUCK/MAUL success %
220 33 140 91%
268 46 181 93%
32min 02s =40%
38min 12s = 48%
% of all PASSES MADE BY BACKS % of all PASSES MADE BY SCRUM HALF % of all PASSES MADE BY FORWARDS
16% 47% 37%
17% 49% 34%
Avg LINEOUTS per match LINEOUT success % Avg SCRUMS per match SCRUM success %
23 81% 19 92%
23 83% 14 85%
23 0 red – 10 yellow
21 0 red – 13 yellow
Avg BALL IN PLAY TIME
Avg PENALTIES/FREE KICKS per match Total YELLOW and RED CARDS
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PAGE 4
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
1.0 SCORING There were 377 points scored in the 9 matches played, giving an average of 44 points per match. They were made up as follows: Type of Score
Points Makeup
Total
Points
31 8 39 1
217 40 117 3 377
Converted Tries Unconverted Tries Penalty Goals Drop Goals Total
% Tries Penalty Goals Conversions Drop Goals
52% 31 16 1
1.1 WINNING MARGINS The winning margins in each of the 6 matches fell into the following ranges: Points Difference at PNC 2012 Points Difference 0– 5 6 – 10 11 – 20 21 – 30 31 - 40 40+
No of matches
2 2 2 2 1
Cumulative 2012 5 points or less = 22% 10 points or less = 44% 20 points or less = 66% 30 points or less = 88% 40 points or less = 100%
Not surprisingly, points scored and conceded varied considerably, with the total and average points scored and conceded by each team shown below: Points for 2012 2012 NC NC
Points against 2012 2012 NC NC
TOTAL
AVERAGE
TOTAL
AVERAGE
JAGUARS
95
32
41
14
EM ITALY
74 69 57 45 37
25 23 19 15 12
55 43 55 79 104
18 14 18 26 35
ROMANIA URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
1.2 PENALTY GOALS There were 39 penalty goals kicked in the tournament, an average of 4.3 per match. This year, only two teams scored more tries than penalty goals – Jaguars and Emerging Italy.
EM ITALY JAGUARS ROMANIA URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
Penalties Goals Scored 5
Penalties Goals Conceded 4
Ratio PGs : Tries 1:1.8
9 9 7 3 6
9 7 5 6 8
1:1.1 1:0.7 1:0.7 1:0.5 1:0.5
PAGE 5
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
1.3 IMPACT OF THE PENALTY GOAL ON MATCH RESULTS Average Tries per game Most Tries in one game Least Tries in one game
Tries still win matches. In the Nations Cup 2012, the winning team scored the most tries in 8 of the 9 matches or in 89%
2012 NATIONS 4.3 8 2
In one matches tries were equal.
2.0 TRY SCORING There were 39 tries scored at IRB Nations Cup 2012. The total number of tries, penalty goals and drop goals scored by each country at IRB Nations Cup 2012 is as follows:
RUSSIA EM ITALY JAGUARS URUGUAY PORTUGAL ROMANIA
Tries
Conversions
6 9
3 7
Penalty Goals 3 5
10 5 3 6
9 4 2 6
9 7 6 9
Drop Goals
% of points from Kicks 33% 39%
53% 44% 41% 36%
47% 56% 59% 64%
1
2.1 RATE OF TRY SCORING An earlier table shows the number of tries scored by each country.The table does not show however, how effective each team was in scoring tries in relation to the possession that it obtained. A team may obtain little possession but still manage to score a significant number of tries. The following paragraphs consider this and attempt to show how successful each team was in converting possession into tries.
% of points from Tries 67% 61%
Total Tries Scored EM ITALY
9
JAGUARS
10 5 6 6 3
URUGUAY ROMANIA RUSSIA PORTUGAL
Try scoring rate 2012 NATIONS 1 try scored every 5min 09secs 5min 21secs 7min 09secs 9min 16secs 9min 30secs 13min 25secs
This was done by adding together the time each team was in possession of the ball in each of the matches played, and then dividing it by the number of tries scored. The result then gave a rate of try scoring – or a measure of how effective each country was in converting possession into tries. 2.2 RATE OF TRY CONCEDING
Following the above exercise, the converse was looked at, i.e. how effective was each team in restricting tries in relation to the possession that their opponents obtained. The following paragraph tries to measure this by illustrating how successful each team was in preventing their opposition from converting possession into tries.
JAGUARS ROMANIA URUGUAY EM ITALY RUSSIA
Total tries conceded 2 3 6 7 9 12
Try conceding rate 2012 NATIONS 23min 09secs 14min 45secs 9min 19secs 7min 14secs 5min 13secs 3min 42secs
PORTUGAL This was done by adding together the total time the team’s opponents were in possession of the ball and then dividing it by the number of tries conceded. The result then gave a rate of try scoring by the opposition. There were noticeable contrasts. Whereas Jaguar’s opponents required an average of over 23 minutes possession to score a try, Portugal’s required just over three minutes.
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PAGE 6
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
2.3 PLAYERS AND TRIES It has been noted above that there were 39 tries scored in the 9 matches: There were 26 tries, or 67% scored by backs and 12 tries, or 31%, scored by forwards, There was one penalty try. The breakdown between the 12 competing teams is shown in the table below. Portugal was the only teams whose forwards scored more tries than their backs.
JAGUARS EM ITALY ROMANIA RUSSIA URUGUAY PORTUGAL
Total 10
Tries by Backs 6
Tries by Forwards 4
9 6 6 5 3
8 4 4 3 1
1 1+1p/t 2 2 2
3.0 TRIES 3.1 SOURCE OF TRIES The teams scoring the tries obtained possession of the ball prior to the scoring of the try from a variety of sources..
The source of possession from which each team’s tries were scored was as follows: Total Pen/ Lineout Scrum Scored FK JAGUARS 10 2 2 1 EM ITALY ROMANIA RUSSIA URUGUAY PORTUGAL
9 6 6 5 3
2 1 2 2 1
1 4 2
Lineout – Own Scrum –Own Turnover/Handling Error Opponents Kick Penalty/Free Kick Restart – own and opp Lineout - Opp Scrum – Opp Total
Kick
1
2012 NATIONS 10 9 7 5 3 4 1 39
Turnover
Restart
2
3
2
1
2 1
1
1 1 1
2 1
The next table shows the possession source from which their opponent’s tries came:
JAGUARS ROMANIA URUGUAY EM ITALY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
Total Conceded 2 3 6 7 9 12
Lineout
Scrum
2 2 3 3
2 1 2 3 1 1
Pen/ FK
Kick
Turnover
Restart
1
1 1 1 4
2 2
2 1
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
2 2
PAGE 7
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
3.2 ORIGIN OF TRIES The try origin is that point on the pitch where the team scoring last obtained possession before scoring a try. Tries originated from various parts of the pitch: 33% of the tries originated in the scoring team’s own half. 21% of tries were from between the opponent’s halfway to 10-metre line. 10% of tries were from between the opponent’s 10-metre to 22-metre line. 36% of tries were from between the opponent’s 22-metre line to try line. The following table provides the try origin data for each team’s tries.
JAGUARS EM ITALY ROMANIA RUSSIA URUGUAY PORTUGAL
Total Scored 10
Own Half 4
Halfway to 10m 2
9 6 6 5 3
4 1
3
10m to 22m 2
2 3 4 2 1
2 2
3 1
22m to Try-line 2
1
The following table provides the converse to the above (i.e. it shows, for each team, the origin of all tries conceded). Portugal’s opponents scored 67% of their tries from inside their own half. Of 13 tries scored from within the scoring team’s own half, 8 were conceded by Portuugal.
ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
3.3
Total Conceded 3 2
Opp Half 1
7 6 9 12
1 1 2 8
Halfway to 10m
10m to 22m
22m to Try-line 2
2 2 1 4 1
4 4 2 2
1 4
BUILD-UP TO TRIES
Possession of the ball that leads to tries is obtained from a number of sources. More often than not, other actions – second phase, kicks and passes – take place before the try is scored. The tables below show the number of rucks and mauls (second phase) and the number of passes that preceded each of the 39 tries scored in NC2012. The first table shows that 77% of tries were preceded by three or fewer second phases.
Build Up to Tries – Ruck /Mauls
0 R/Ms 1 R/Ms 2 R/Ms 3 R/Ms 4 R/Ms 5 R/Ms 6 R/Ms 7+ R/Ms Total
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
Number
%
14 7 5 4 3 3 1 2 39
36% 18% 13% 10% 8% 8% 3% 4% 100%
Cumulative % 36% 54% 67% 77%
PAGE 8
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
Build Up to Tries – Passes
The second table shows that 51% of tries were preceded by three or fewer passes.
Number
%
6 4 2 8 7 2 1 9 39
15% 10% 5% 21% 18% 5% 3% 23|% 100%
0 pass 1 pass 2 passes 3 passes 4 passes 5 passes 6 passes 7+ passes Total
The above percentages were not figures that were consistently seen throughout all teams, e.g. only one of Portugal’s three tries contained a pass.
3.5 TIMING OF SCORES
Cumulative % 15% 25% 30% 51%
There was a difference between the time when tries were scored and the time when penalty goals were kicked. While 45% of tries were scored in the first half, the first-half penalty goal count was 69%. Emerging Italy conceded 5 of their 6 tries in the first half. Romania did not concede a try in the first half of their matches. The following table breaks down these figures further and shows the halves in which teams scored tries and penalty goals, and the halves which they conceded tries and penalty goals. st
ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
1 Half Tries scored 2 2
nd
2
Half Tries scored 3 8
4 3 5 1
Tries st 1 Half Tries conceded
5 2 1 2
nd
2
st
1
Half Tries conceded 3 1
1 Half PGs Scored 6 7
5 2 4 5
1 4 5 7
3 4 3 4
Penalty goals st Half 1 Half PGs PGs Scored conceded 3 5 2 7 nd
nd
2
2 3 0 2
2
Half PGs conceded 2 2
3 3 4 5
1 2 2 3
4.0 KICKS AT GOAL 2012 NATIONS
Kicking success rates were as follows: The kicking success for penalty goals, conversions and drop goals of each of the participating countries is shown below.
Conversions
80%
Penalty goals
61%
The table gives the kicking success rate of each participating team. Drop goals 1 of 1 However, the percentages should only be regarded as indicative since success depends on a number of factors. Some tries are scored near the touchline – others under the post. Furthermore, when few kicks at goal are taken, the success, or failure, of relatively few can have a disproportionate effect on percentages. Certain teams may take tap penalties, scrums and lineouts instead of kickable penalties. Other Conversion Penalty Overall Drop goal teams may choose to kick for Success Success Success % Success goal whenever three points are ROMANIA 9 of 15 71% 6 of 6 0 of 0 more or less guaranteed. The 9 of 10 9 of 12 82% 0 of 0 JAGUARS table should therefore be looked 7 of 9 5 of 8 71% 0 of 0 EM ITALY at within such potential constraints. There was one successful drop goal from one attempts.
URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
4 of 5 3 of 6 2 of 3
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
7 of 16 3 of 4 6 of 9
52% 60% 67%
1 of 1 0 of 0 0 of 0 PAGE 9
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
5.0 BALL IN PLAY In percentage terms, NC 2012 matches produced an average ball in play time of 32mins 02secs (40%) The following table shows the ball in play percentage and time for each match and it also includes how much possession (%) was obtained by each team in the 30 matches. It can be seen that the winning team had most possession in 7, or 78%, of the 9 matches as highlighted in orange below.
Average B-I-P per match Highest B-I-P in one match Lowest B-I-Pin one match
BALL IN PLAY % 47% 46% 43% 42% 41% 40% 36% 34% 32%
BALL IN PLAY TIME 37min 17secs 37min 02secs 34min 10secs 33min 32secs 32min 43secs 37min 03secs 29min 04secs 27min 00secs 25min 35secs
WINNING TEAM Romania Russia Arg Jags Romania Russia Arg Jags Romania Em Italy Portugal
% 55% 65% 53% 53% 52% 61% 60% 51% 57%
LOSING TEAM Em Italy Uruguay Russia Arg Jags Em Italy Portugal Uruguay Portugal Uruguay
The table attached is a summary of the previous table, showing the overall average possession time obtained by all 12 teams. It can be seen that both Romania and Russia obtained over 50% more possession than Uruguay.
RUSSIA ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY PORTUGAL URUGUAY
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
2012 NATIONS 32mins 02secs 40% 37mins 17secs 47% 27mins 00secs 34% % 45% 35% 47% 47% 48% 39% 40% 49% 43% 2012 NATIONS 19min 00secs 18min 31secs 17min 49secs 15min 27secs 13min 25secs 11min 54secs
PAGE 10
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
6.0 ACTIVITY CYCLES Activity cycles comprise passes, ruck/mauls, and kicks. Passes Rucks/Mauls Kicks
6.1 PASSING
2012 NATIONS 220 140 33
Matches, on average, contained 220 passes 2012 NATIONS Average Passes per match
220
Most Passes in one match Least Passes in one match
290 143
The next tables show the average passes per match per team. Again, there were noticeable differences between the 6 teams, with Jaguars making almost three times more passes per game than Uruguay. However, a team may make more passes than another because it had more possession and this was the case when comparing Jaguars and Uruguay. Apart from having more possession, Jaguars also passed at a far higher rate, i.e. they made more passes per minute’s possession. As well as showing the average number of passes, the tables show the average number of passes per minute’s possession, i.e. the rate of passing.
JAGUARS
Average Passes 2012 NATIONS 148
JAGUARS
Passes per Minute 2012 NATIONS 8.3
RUSSIA
133
EM ITALY
7.7
EM ITALY
119 110 97 53
PORTUGAL
7.3 7.0 5.9 4.4
ROMANIA PORTUGAL URUGUAY
RUSSIA ROMANIA URUGUAY
The following table shows the average number of passes per country per match, together with the most in a match and the least in a match, and the difference between the most and the least.
JAGUARS RUSSIA EM ITALY ROMANIA PORTUGAL URUGUAY
Average
Most
Least
148 133 119 110 97 53
173 146 133 126 114 63
107 117 106 93 78 43
Difference between most and least 66 29 27 33 36 20
6.2 PLAYER PASSING Total passes made in the Championship were broken down into three groups: • Passes made by forwards • Passes made by the scrum half • Passes made by backs
Percentage made by forwards Percentage made by scrum half Percentage made by backs
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
2012 NATIONS 16% 47% 37%
PAGE 11
Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
Overall, the percentages for each of the three groups are shown in the table below. All the passes made by each country at NC 2012 have been divided into these three groups, and are shown in the adjacent table.
JAGUARS RUSSIA EM ITALY
Total Passes 445 398 358
ROMANIA PORTUGAL
Passes by Forwards 68 54 66 56 44 26
329 292 158
Passes by Scrum half 195 220 141 158 141 70
Passes by Backs 182 124 151 115 107 62
What the previous table shows URUGUAY is the number of passes made by the three groups of players. It simply shows how active they were in passing the ball. Jaguar’s backs, for example, made three times as many passes as Uruguay’s. The following table takes this further. It shows the proportion of a team’s passes made by each group. In other words, of all the passes made by a team, what proportion were made by the forwards, what proportion by the scrum half, and what proportion by the backs? Such tables can show if certain teams use forwards more as suppliers of the ball for onward transmission by the backs, rather than the forwards themselves being more involved in the distribution process. % by % by % by Forwards Scrum Half Backs The table shows that while Russia’s forwards ROMANIA made twice as many passes as Uruguay’s, as a 48% 35% 17% proportion of total team passes, Uruguay’s 15% 44% 41% JAGUARS forwards made proportionately more. The 18% 39% 42% EM ITALY percentages for each participating country are URUGUAY 16% 45% 39% shown in the adjacent table. RUSSIA 14% 55% 31% PORTUGAL 15% 48% 37% The next table shows the number of times each countries’ forwards had the ball in their hands and then notes the number of times they passed it. This is expressed as a ratio so that if a team’s forwards passed the ball 20 times having received it 100 times, the ratio would be expressed as one to five, i.e. one pass for every five possessions. Again, the table shows the differences between various countries, with Emerging Italy’s forwards being the forwards most likely to pass the ball and Uruguay’s the least likely to pass the ball.
ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
2012 NATIONS 1 in 3.6 1 in 3.4 1 in 2.3 1 in 4.1 1 in 3.9 1 in 3.8
This difference between the forwards of each country is even more graphically illustrated when the forwards are broken down into the three groups of front row, second row and back row. This time the relationship between passes and possession is expressed in percentage terms, so that if a group of forwards received the ball 20 times and passed it six times, it means they passed it on 30% of occasions. The front row, second row and back row passing percentages for each team are shown in the following tables: Front Row 2012 NC
Second Row 2012 NC
Back Row 2012 NC
EM ITALY
46%
JAGUARS
32%
EM ITALY
47%
URUGUAY
34%
EM ITALY
29%
JAGUARS
35%
ROMANIA
30% 19% 19% 18%
ROMANIA
24% 24% 24% 15%
RUSSIA
34% 30% 29% 21%
PORTUGAL RUSSIA JAGUARS
PORTUGAL URUGUAY RUSSIA
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
PORTUGAL ROMANIA URUGUAY
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Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
6.3 PASSING MOVEMENTS Passes are grouped into passing movements, i.e. one pass movement, two pass movements and so on. The data shows that some 82% of all passing movements contained two passes or less. There were, however, clear differences between the various countries as shown in the table
ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY
% of passing movements with 2 or fewer passes 2012 NATIONS 86% 81% 74% 82% 89% 80%
URUGUAY
The data also shows that Uruguay had a total of 17 passing movements with more than two passes. Emerging Italy had 46.
RUSSIA PORTUGAL
2012 NATIONS
6.4 RUCKS/MAULS Matches, on average, contained 140 rucks/mauls
Average R/Ms per game
140
Most R/Ms in one game Least R/Ms in one game
168 101
The adjacent table indicates the total number of rucks/mauls created by each team in the competition expressed as an average per match. Just as in the case of passes, however, the number of rucks and mauls made by one team may be constrained because it obtained only limited possession of the ball. In order to address this, an alternative calculation has been made which relates the number of rucks/mauls to the share of ball-in-play time won by each team. This is expressed in the number of rucks created for every minutes’ possession obtained by a team and is also shown in the below table.
EM ITALY
Average Rucks 2012 NATIONS 93 88 82 59 55
URUGUAY
43
RUSSIA JAGUARS ROMANIA PORTUGAL
URUGUAY
Ruck/mauls per minute 2012 NATIONS 4.9 4.9 4.6 4.4 3.6
EM ITALY
3.5
JAGUARS RUSSIA ROMANIA PORTUGAL
6.5 BREAKDOWN RETENTION At the breakdown, the team taking in the ball retained possession by either winning the ball or being awarded a penalty on 91% of occasions. 2012 NATIONS The percentage success rate for almost all teams was similar and is ROMANIA 90% shown in the adjacent table. 95% JAGUARS 93% EM ITALY URUGUAY RUSSIA PORTUGAL
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
87% 90% 91%
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Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
2012 NATIONS 33 45 21
6.6 KICKING Average Kicks per game Most Kicks in one game Least Kicks in one game
Each country’s average is shown in the adjacent table.
When an adjustment is made to take account of possession obtained by each team, then the kicking table changes slightly. It shows that while Romania was the highest kicking team, it kicked at the third highest rate. The table below includes the average number of kicks per team per minute’s possession.
ROMANIA EM ITALY RUSSIA PORTUGAL URUGUAY JAGUARS
Average Kicks 2012 NATIONS 20 19 19 15 15 10
URUGUAY EM ITALY ROMANIA PORTUGAL RUSSIA JAGUARS
Kicks per minute 2012 NATIONS 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.0 0.6
7.0 RESTARTS Of 50-metre restarts, 68% were kicked long while 32% were kicked short and were contestable. When all restarts were kicked short, the kicking team regained possession on one in three occasions. The table shows the type of restart kicked by each team at 50-metre and retention rates of short restarts.
9 8
5 6
Retention rate 3 of 5 5 of 8
12 10 14 10
2 2 3 11
0 of 2 1 of 2 1 of 3 1 of 12
Long ROMANIA JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY
Short
RUSSIA It can be seen that there was a major contrast between PORTUGAL many of the teams. While all teams kicked more long than short, some countries kicked long on almost all their restarts while others kicked long less frequently. The most effective teams in retaining all short restarts are also shown.
The most successful team at regaining restarts was Jaguars.
8.0 LINEOUTS The average number of lineouts per game was 23. The most lineouts in a match was 27, the least 16.
Average no per game Percentage competed Possession retained
2012 NATIONS 23 37% 81%
All teams had high success rates on their own throw while rates of success on opponents throw-ins showed more variation. Lineout success on own throw and opposition throw are shown in the following table. It also highlights lineout steals, i.e. those lost on own throw-in and those won on opponent’s throw-in. Portugal and Russia had the highest overall percentage success rate on their own throw-in and Jaguars had the most success on opposition throw-ins. Success %
PORTUGAL RUSSIA JAGUARS URUGUAY ROMANIA EM ITALY
Own Throw 93% 92% 84% 78% 72% 68%
Opp Throw 18% 26% 36% 2% 28% 16%
Lineout Steals Lost on Own Throw 2 2 5 5 9 12
Won on Opp Throw 6 10 7 1 6 5
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
Not straight / Pen/FK / Knock-on Own Opp Throw Throw 1 1 1 1 3 1 2 1 1
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Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
9.0 SCRUMS The average number of scrums per game was 19. Average no per game Possession retained
The most scrums in a game was 22, the least 15.
2012 NATIONS 19 92%
Scrum ball retention was relatively high for all teams, Romania retained possession on all 29 put-ins. With such high percentage of possession retained, it is no surprise that heels against the head were few and far between. In total there were 4 in 170 scrums or one in 43. The table below shows the tight heads won and lost by each country.
ROMANIA URUGUAY PORTUGAL JAGUARS RUSSIA EM ITALY
Scrum Success % Own Opposition Feed Feed 16% 100% 93% 12% 93% 7% 92% 5% 90% 4% 86% 0%
Heels against the head Lost on Own Won on Feed Opposition Feed 3 1 1 1 2 -
Of all scrum penalties, over 81% were awarded to the team putting in the ball.
10.0 PENALTIES / FREE KICKS In NC 2012, the average number of penalties and free kicks awarded in a match was 23. This reflected a spread of between 28 and 18 per match. Average no per game Most Pens/FKs in one game Least Pens/FKs in one game
2012 NATIONS 23 28 18
The following table comprises the total penalties awarded to, and conceded by, each team. However, because the number of penalties can vary from match to match, a better measure is the proportion of penalties conceded by a team in all their matches compared with their opponents. This shows that Jaguars were the least penalised team in relation to their opponents while Russia was the most penalised.
JAGUARS EM ITALY URUGUAY PORTUGAL ROMANIA RUSSIA
Pens/FKs For and Against Pen/FK Pen/FK For Against 42 22 33 41 31 34 28
32 39 37 42 37
Proportion of Pens/FKs % Pen/FK % Pen/FK For Against 66% 34% 51% 49% 51% 46% 45% 43%
49% 54% 55% 57%
Of the penalties and free kicks awarded, teams took some 17% as tap penalties. The differences between the teams, however, were noticeable. While overall teams took an average of 6 tap penalties in the tournament, Romania tapped only once and Jaguars tapped on 11 occasions.
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
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Nations Cup 2012
Statistical Analysis & Match Summary
10.1 CATEGORIES OF OFFENCES PENALISED The following table groups the penalties awarded into nine categories and these are as follows:
11.0 CARDS – YELLOW & RED
Ruck/tackle on ground Offside Scrum Dangerous tackle Other Lineout Obstruction Foul play Maul
% 53% 14% 22% 2% 2% 1% 4% 1% 1%
There were no red cards issued There were 10 yellow cards issued during the Championship, an average of one per match. Of the nine matches, there were five which contained at least one card, meaning four did not contain a single yellow card. 2012 NATIONS
The most yellow cards in one match were three (ARG JAG v ROM). The table adjacent shows the breakdown of yellow cards per team, including reasons.
ROMANIA
3
EM ITALY
2
URUGUAY
2
JAGUARS
1 1 1
RUSSIA PORTUGAL
Yellow Card Reasons 1 x Ruck 1 x Foul Play 1 x Dangerous Tackle 2 x Dangerous Tackle 1 x Ruck 1 x Deliberate Knock on 1 x Foul Play 1 x Foul Play 1 x Scrum
Overall, the reasons for yellow cards were as follows:
Dangerous Tackle Ruck Foul Play Scrum Deliberate knock on Total
2012 NATIONS 3 2 3 1 1 10
120901 IRB GAME ANALYSIS - 2012 NATIONS CUP REPORT
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