Fabulous Faletau’s return by impressive stats from To peak form is borne out the Six Nations campaign
THE Six Nations stats are in and they make for fascinating reading from both an individual and a team perspective.
They show the players who have had the biggest impact on the tournament, with a number of Welshmen figuring prominently.
They also reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the respective teams and provide an insight into how they approach the game.
From a Welsh point of view, two players were on the field for every minute of every game – Justin Tipuric and Louis Rees-Zammit.
They are also out on top of a couple of other charts. Flanker Tipuric has made more tackles (86) than any other player in the tournament and been Wales’ main source of lineout ball, while wing wonderkid ReesZammit is the joint top try scorer.
Elsewhere, Wyn Jones’ stats confirm what a tremendous campaign the Scarlets loosehead prop has had.
As well as the solidity he has provided at the scrum, he has also made the second-most carries for Wales, making a shedload of hard yards, in addition to putting in a good number of tackles and staying on for lungbusting lengths of time. An unsung hero now rightly having his plaudits sung loudly.
Fellow prop Tomas Francis also had a tournament to remember.
The Ospreys-bound tighthead made a whopping 59 tackles and there’s a further eye-opening stat about him courtesy of Opta.
That shows he averaged 41.2 ruck arrivals per 80 minutes during the Championship, the best rate of any player that played more than 200 minutes.
He was also one of just four players to have an effective impact at more than 100 rucks, along with Tipuric, Tadhg Beirne and Maro Itoje.
So, hats off to Wales’ propping pals. But the player whose stats stand out above all for Wayne Pivac’s team is Taulupe Faletau. His return to peak form has been one of the real highlights of the campaign and his figures reaffirm just what an influence he has been.
He has made the second-most carries and tackles in the Championship, with only CJ Stander and Tipuric ahead of him in those respective categories.
The Lions No.8 has also made the most metres of any forward from any country, with his dynamism and footwork setting him apart among the pack contingent.
Add in 363 minutes on the pitch, 80 ball-handling moments, a couple of lineout wins, a try and a turnover and it really has been some effort from the 30-year-old.
After the injury issues he has had over the past few years, it’s just great to see him right back to his best.
Looking at wider trends, the defensive stats are very telling.
Wales made way more tackles (896) than any other team, providing the three most prolific hitmen in Tipuric, Faletau and Alun Wyn Jones.
That’s a reflection of the fact they spent a fair chunk of the tournament without the ball, especially in the early couple of games.
The fact they kicked for more metres than any other side contributes to the time spent in defence, as do handling errors.
Wales kick a fair bit in general and they tend to keep the ball on the park when they kick, so inevitably that is going to mean extended periods without possession.
That in turn demands a heavy defensive workload and they have certainly put in a shift there.
But while there have been heroics, notably the late try-saving tackles from Tipuric and Owen Watkin against Ireland and Scotland, plus numerous other Rorke’s Drift episodes on their own line, there is still some cause for concern.
After Italy, Wales missed the second-most tackles, with their tally of 112 averaging out at 22 per game.
With the high standards he sets, defence coach Gethin Jenkins will be wanting to get that figure down.
On the plus side, Wales’ attacking play has been excellent, as reflected by a haul of 20 tries, five more than anyone else.
They have been clinical and they have been inventive, while they moved into another sphere again out in Paris, with the way they repeatedly made ground in contact and retained ball, the 20-phase try rounded off by Josh Navidi being a team score to savour.
And in Rees-Zammit they now have a supreme predator to apply the gloss finish to the grafting undercoat, with the 20-year-old having been the breakthrough player of the tournament.
If there’s one area that does still need addressing on the attacking front, it’s cutting down the handling errors, as Wales have made more of those than anyone else. Sort that out and they really will be dynamite with the ball.
Elsewhere, you can see that Ireland have been the turnover kings, with the exceptional Tadhg Beirne – my player of the Six Nations – leading the way there.
They have also made the most carries and most metres, showing their recycling efficiency and remorseless pick-and-go game.
On that front, as he bows out of international rugby, one has to give a further mention to CJ Stander, who is yet again the competition’s top carrier, having trucked it up 72 times. He really has been some performer for the men in green over the years.
It’s title-chasing France who are way out in front on offloads and lineouts won with a game still to play, with scrum-half Antoine Dupont and skipper Charles Ollivon the main men in those two categories.
Their discipline has also been really good, aside from Paul Willemse’s red card against Wales, with Les Bleus conceding the lowest number of penalties.
As for indiscipline, well, first impressions are confirmed, with last year’s champions England having conceded the joint-most penalties along with the under-the-cosh Italians.
Their habitual indiscretions really have undermined their efforts over these past couple of months and the heat is very much on Eddie Jones now.
So, that’s the story of the Six Nations stats.
But, of course, there’s only one table that really counts and that’s the Championship table.
Wales are still out in front, but their fate is no longer in their hands following their Parisian heartbreak.
So, it now all comes down to Friday and France’s meeting with Scotland. Get the tartan ready everyone!
WALES PLAYER STATS Minutes played
400 - Justin Tipuric 400 - Louis Rees-Zammit 365 - Alun Wyn Jones 363 - Taulupe Faletau 341 - Wyn Jones
335 - Ken Owens
313 - Liam Williams 308 - Tomas Francis 295 - Josh Navidi
293 - Dan Biggar
285 - George North 258 - Adam Beard 240 - Josh Adams
Metres made
370 - Taulupe Faletau 351 - Louis Rees-Zammit 335 - George North 259 - Liam Williams 196 - Josh Adams
175 - Ken Owens 174 - Wyn Jones 134 - Jonathan Davies 121 - Alun Wyn Jones 112 - Justin Tipuric 95 - Dan Biggar
88 - Josh Navidi
Carries
66 - Taulupe Faletau 39 - Wyn Jones
37 - Ken Owens
37 - George North 34 - Alun Wyn Jones 31 - Liam Williams
27 - Louis Rees-Zammit 23 - Justin Tipuric
23 - Josh Navidi
22 - Josh Adams
18 - Jonathan Davies 18 - Dan Biggar
Tackles made
86 - Justin Tipuric 77 - Taulupe Faletau 75 - Alun Wyn Jones 69 - Josh Navidi 59 - Tomas Francis 56 - Ken Owens 47 - Wyn Jones
34 - George North
33 - Dan Biggar
31 - Adam Beard
28 - Louis Rees-Zammit
Turnovers won
3 - Adam Beard
3 - Justin Tipuric
2 - Alun Wyn Jones
1 - Louis Rees-Zammit 1 - Liam Williams
1 - Taulupe Faletau
Lineouts won
11 - Justin Tipuric 7 - Cory Hill
6 - Adam Beard
3 - Alun Wyn Jones 2 - Taulupe Faletau 1 - Josh Navidi
OVERALL PLAYER STATS Points
65 - Johnny Sexton 50 - Owen Farrell 36 - Dan Biggar 34 - Mathieu Jalibert
Tries
4 - Anthony Watson
4 - Louis Rees-Zammit 3 - Antoine Dupont
3 - Josh Adams
3 - Duhan van der Merwe
Try assists
4 - Antoine Dupont 3 - Ali Price
Passes made
279 - Stephen Varney 256 - Jamison Gibson-Park 250 - Ali Price
247 - Ben Youngs
Carries
72 - CJ Stander
66 - Taulupe Faletau 65 - Robbie Henshaw 60 - Sebastian Negri 56 - Matt Fagerson 52 - Gregory Alldritt 51 - Tadhg Beirne
Metres made
434 - Elliot Daly 433 - James Lowe 432 - Duhan van der Merwe 400 - Monty Ioane
385 - Brice Dulin
383 - Stuart Hogg
370 - Hugo Keenan
368 - Taulupe Faletau
Tackles made
86 - Justin Tipuric 77 - Taulupe Faletau 75 - Alun Wyn Jones 73 - Luca Bigi
70 - Paul Willemse 70 - Michael Lamaro 69 - Josh Navidi
Turnovers won
10 - Tadhg Beirne 6 - Iain Henderson 5 - Maro Itoje
5 - CJ Stander
4 - Hamish Watson
Offloads
7 - Antoine Dupont 6 - Stuart Hogg
5 - Gregory Alldritt 5 - Julien Marchand
Lineouts won
18 - Charles Ollivon 15 - Iain Henderson 13 - Tadhg Beirne 11 - Justin Tipuric 11 - Dylan Cretin 10 - Maro Itoje
Tries Carries TEAM STATS
20 - Wales 15 - France 15 - Scotland 12 - Ireland 12 - England 6 - Italy
Tries conceded
34 - Italy
11 - England 11 - Wales 10 - Ireland 7 - France 7 - Scotland
Metres made
3728 - Ireland 3334 - Scotland 3240 - Italy 3217 - England 3115 - Wales 2818 - France
662 - Ireland 561 - Italy 549 - Scotland 509 - Wales 502 - England 436 - France
Metres kicked
4399 - Wales 4017 - Ireland 3919 - France 3873 - England 2874 - Italy 2787 - Scotland
Passes made
871 - Ireland 804 - Italy 720 - Wales 666 - England 635 - Scotland 515 - France
Offloads
39 - France 30 - Italy 27 - Scotland 22 - Wales 22 - England 18 - Ireland
Tackles made
896 - Wales 727 - Italy 648 - France 595 - Ireland 590 - England 444 - Scotland
Tackles missed
143 - Italy 112 - Wales 92 - Ireland 92 - England 79 - France 36 - Scotland
Turnovers won
33 - Ireland 16 - Scotland 16 - England 13 - France 12 - Wales
11 - Italy
Handling errors
57 - Wales 54 - England 53 - Italy 50 - Ireland 48 - France 44 - Scotland
Penalties conceded
67 - England 67 - Italy 56 - Wales 47 - Ireland 40 - Scotland 32 - France
Lineouts won
52 - France 46 - Italy 45 - Ireland 41 - England 32 - Wales 31 - Scotland
Yellow cards
7 - Italy
2 - France 2 - Wales
1 - Scotland 1 - Ireland
1 - England
Red cards
2 - Ireland 1 - France
1 - Scotland 0 - Italy
0 - Wales