Crunching the numbers
THAT renowned philosopher David Brent once made it his business to inform the world that statistics are like a lamp-post to a drunken man — more for leaning on than illumination. Maybe, maybe not. But it can still be intriguing to number-crunch when analysing who’s been doing what on a Lions tour, and particularly when there are major selection calls in the to be made.
MARK ORDERS trawls through the figures to see how much use they are to Warren Gatland as he shapes to make key decisions at fly-half, lock, on the wings and in both flanker positions ahead of the Test series opener against New Zealand next Saturday.
FLY-HALF
Jonathan Sexton The 31-year-old is the only fly-half to have made a clean break on the tour.
He has offloaded three times but been turned over on three occasions. He has made 24 tackles and missed seven. Owen Farrell The England international has yet to lose possession on this trip.
He has still to beat a defender but he did set up a try for Anthony Watson against the Provincial Barbarians.
He has missed 25 percent of the tackles he has attempted: three from 12. Dan Biggar The Wales international has a 92 percent tackle completion rate.
Biggar has one try assist to his credit, setting up a score for Jonathan Joseph.
He has beaten one defender and boasts almost identical kicking, passing and running stats to Farrell. Behind the numbers Arguably the best half of rugby played by any No.10 for the Lions on this tour was produced by Dan Biggar against the Highlanders, but he is rarely mentioned in the debate over who should figure at No.10 in the series opener.
Jonathan Sexton has played far more rugby than his two rivals, featuring in all four games.
He has passed 63 times and beaten two defenders, while Farrell hasn’t managed to evade one defender.
Biggar has the best defensive record of the three.
The best at bossing a game? Farrell’s many fans insist he is, and he did play impressively against the Crusaders, albeit he spent part of that game in the centre. He puts an emphasis on playing in the right areas.
Sexton played with variety against the Maori and offloaded twice. Verdict It is hard to imagine Gatland leaving out Farrell, but he has been carrying an injury and Sexton has found form. The Irishman also knows Conor Murray’s game, which might just tip the scales his way, especially if Farrell is not 100 percent fit.
WING
Anthony Watson Watson is one of only two wings to have scored a try. He has made more runs than any other wide-man with 21.
He has made more clean breaks (4) and beaten more defenders (9) than any of his rivals, while he has succeeded with 14 out of 17 tackle attempts. Tommy Seymour Seymour has yet to put in a kick on this tour. He has scored a try and made 113 metres with ball in hand, a tally bettered only by Anthony Watson.
He has been turned over three times and missed two of his nine tackle attempts. Elliot Daly The England man has kicked more times (5) than any other wide-man.
He has made 12 runs, averaging three metres per carry.
He has beaten more defenders (3) than any of his wing rivals bar Watson but made fewest tackles with four. Jack Nowell Nowell has made more ball carries (16) than every other wing except Watson.
He has lost possession five times, more than any other wide-man.
He has put in more completed tackles (16) than any of his rivals, missing two. Liam Williams Despite playing comparatively little rugby on this tour, Williams has made 13 runs, turning three of them into clean breaks and beating two defenders.
He has yet to miss a tackle. He lost possession four times in one game, against the Crusaders. George North The Wales international is the only wing on this trip who has yet to make a clean break. He has made 12 runs which have yielded 68 metres for his side.
He has been turned over three times. Behind the numbers Against Ireland in the last Six Nations, George North made five clean breaks, beat eight defenders and scored two tries, proving utterly unstoppable on the night, a World XV player if ever there was one. That evening seems a lifetime ago. On Saturday against the Maori, North