Stats the way to do it – or how Wales crunched the numbers to tame Pumas

HOMER Simpson once reckoned that statistics could prove anything, adding that 40% of people knew as much.

Still, some figures are worth homing in on.

We crunched the numbers after Wales’s win over Argentina and found some stats that would please Warren Gatland, another that would annoy him and one that was more than a bit unusual... their 223 tackle attempts, a prodigious effort that wrecked Argentina’s attempts to inject fluency and thrust into their attacks.

Time and again Pumas players would receive the ball only to find a Welsh player arriving with it, searing line-speed to the fore. The hosts’ lack of imagination was matched only by their lack of space and utter frustration.

They failed to adapt and kept trying to play rugby from deep even though they were losing the breakdown battle and being cut down by opposition tacklers. It all underlined the work of Shaun Edwards as a defence coach.

Before he took over that role in 2008, Wales had leaked 40 tries in their previous 10 games, including nine in one game against England at Twickenham. Edwards has been an unqualified success and it is little wonder he is continually linked with other jobs as he heads towards the end of his time with Wales.

No-one is indispensable, but the Welsh Rugby Union need to hope the former rugby league man stays through to the World Cup. ON the surface, such figures might be a shade troubling. But for a wellorganised side who take their chances they needn’t be so.

New Zealand, for instance, didn’t win more than 43% of possession or achieve parity or better in terms of territory in any of the three Tests on their European tour last term.

Yet they went unbeaten against France, Scotland and Wales – in fact, beating Wales 33-18 despite enjoying just 36% of the ball and only 33% of the territory.

Defence is important, but so being clinical.

Wales carried possession roughly half as many times as Argentina, but they made better use of it. Moving the ball was invariably the Pumas’ first option but it became as predictable as is if they had kicked the leather off it every time.

By contrast, Rhys Patchell, who had a fine game, varied his play smartly and alongside him Gareth Davies caused Argentina problems with his pace. AND he played for 80 minutes as well.

Before this tour, Paul Moriarty’s son hadn’t completed a whole game since sustaining a back injury playing for the Lions a year earlier.

Now he has banged in two 80-minute performances in a row and his work-rate has been something to behold.

Against South Africa he finished Wales’s top tackler with 18 and the 26 he made against Argentina ensured