Mo’unga is world’s most influential
Data scientists Dot Loves Data have created a performance tracking tool called the The Rugby Pass Index. Paul Cully adds up the numbers.
The news is good for oneeyed Cantabrians. Richie Mo’unga is the most influential player in the world – tied with Irish blindside flanker Peter O’Mahony – while Beauden Barrett doesn’t crack the top 20 and sits behind the likes of England No 10 Owen Farrell.
That’s according to the deep analysis of Wellington-based data scientists Dot Loves Data, who have created a performance tracking tool called the The Rugby Pass Index.
It’s the brainchild of Dr Paul Bracewell, a member of the famous Bracewell sporting clan, who two decades ago set himself the goal of providing an objective way of measuring player performance.
The RPI is a product of impressive depth.
Every professional rugby player across the globe is tracked and given a score that reflects how much they are contributing to their team’s success.
And it’s Mo’unga who is leading the way, along with O’Mahony.
The Crusaders No 10 has a current score of 93. In New Zealand, that puts him ahead of Kieran Read, Jack Goodhue, Ardie Savea and Codie Taylor, who round out the Kiwi top five.
All Blacks No 10 Barrett has a score of 89, the sixth-highest among New Zealand players, and
joint 25th in the world.
Farrell has a score of 92, making him the 12th most influential player on the planet. ‘‘Mo’unga’s performances have been having a great contribution to his team’s winning compared to anyone else,’’ Dr Bracewell says.
And here comes the $64 million question. Is that because he is playing behind the RollsRoyce pack at the Crusaders?
Well, it seems that not even the brightest minds can solve that argument.
‘‘He’s getting into situations where he’s able to go and contribute towards winning,’’ Dr Bracewell says. ‘‘It’s almost a chicken-and-egg type scenario.
‘‘When he’s touching the ball, or getting involved on the ball, what he does puts the team in a better position.
‘‘Now, whether that is because he is playing behind a Rolls Royce forward pack, or he’s actually keeping that Rolls Royce forward pack going forward, that’s a good question.’’
Dr Bracewell’s tool – which is highly user-friendly and searchable – is an innovative way to explain the game that goes far beyond the stale old ‘metres ran’ and ‘tackles made’ analysis.
It applies science to the old adage of ‘winning the big moments’ and throws up a whole range of fascinating questions.
For example, Ryan Crotty, Ngani Laumape, Anton LienertBrown
1. Richie Mo’unga 2. Kieran Read 3. Jack Goodhue 4. Ardie Savea 5. Codie Taylor 6. Beauden Barrett 7. Ryan Crotty 8. Jordie Barrett 9. Matt Todd 10. George Bridge
and Ma’a Nonu (in that order) are the highest rating No 12s, with Sonny Bill Williams well behind.
The Crusaders’ Brett Cameron is the third-ranked No 10 in New Zealand, while Vaea Fifita is the top-ranked No 6 (with the Crusaders’ Whetukamokamo Douglas behind him).
On the right wing, Wes Goosen, Waisake Naholo and the fast-climbing Sevu Reece are the best-performing players.
Are there selection pointers here for the All Blacks?
Dr Bracewell says there could be. ‘‘The way the whole system is structured is all geared around predictivity,’’ he says. ‘‘That helps us go through and makes sure we can test that what we’ve built makes sense.
‘‘If these ratings talk about how good someone is it should give an indication of how you would expect them to perform in next week’s game, or why they should be picked for certain teams. ‘‘So, we use all those pieces of evidence to make sure that everything is weighted in the right way to make sure we are telling the right story, and it is helping us to quantify who is likely to win and why.’’
Or, as that one-eyed Cantab might put it, Richie is better than Beaudy.