Think back: Weird stats and RWC 2007

This month’s SASI contains some weird stats for that final.

Okay I was pretty shocked. My memory of this game was a bit weird. I was excited, but I was really not as excited by the game as I was by RWC 1995 Final. I have no idea why, but the same electricity just wasn’t there for me.

I don’t know about you guys but I kind of knew the outcome was a foregone conclusion. We were going to win and despite King Johnny I knew it wasn’t going to make a difference. We were going to win.

And to me it was like the Boks were playing the ultimate game of control. Totally within themselves. Cool consummate professionals. It was as though they could turn up the volume at any time.

Anyway on to those stats.

Posession stats show that us and the white legs had the ball an equal amount of time in the first half, 9 mins and 30 secs. While in the second half the Poms had it for 14 mins and 30 secs while we just had it for 8 mins.

How weird is that?

In the lineouts the Poms threw in 26 times and lost six. We threw in 13 times and won all of them (Go Vic!). On the scrum side there were amazingly a total of 15 scrums. We threw in nine times and took them all. The Poms threw in six times and lost one heeled. Nothing strange here. We won 24 turnovers against the 15 of the Poms.

We kicked 49 times and won 1809 metres. The Poms kicked 44 times but only gained 1448 metres, so we kicked more than the most dour team in the world with their ailing master kicker and we were better than them.

We made 88 passes and the Poms 136! The Poms running more than us? No ways… Yes ways.

The Poms gained ground running 84 times and gaining 524 metres. We only ran 55 times and just gained 258 metres.

And tackles? We made 102 and they made 82.

Amazing

It looks like a staunchly defensive game won after all.

And despite running the ball for double the distance we gained the Poms couldn’t score a try.

And the scoreboard showed that those kicks counted.