International Rugby
Fantastic Fijians the leading lights of the Champions Cup
The most lethal attacking players in the Champions Cup this season are of Pacific Islands origin, which again highlights why there has to be greater investment in improving the international Pacific Islands player situation.
French Top 14 clubs are among the biggest beneficiaries because of investment in Pacific Islander players – and the statistics, provided by Twitter’s awesome handle, OptaJonny, reveal the potency of these players in the Champions Cup.
The Fijian back three duo of Josua Touisova and Leone Nakarawa’s statistics reveal their impact on attack.
They are among the 15 nominees for Europe’s Player of the Year award.
1⃣0⃣5⃣ – Alivereti Raka averaged 105 metres gained per 80 minutes in the @ChampionsCup pool stage, the best rate of any player to play more than twice. Journey. pic.twitter.com/WONiFnjlBt
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) January 24, 2018
– Conor Murray made 11 kicks that retained possession for his team in the Champions Cup pool stage – either collected by a teammate (5) or forcing an error from the opposition (6) – no player made more. Aerial.
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– Dany Priso (131) has gained the most metres, beaten the most defenders (12) and made the joint most clean breaks (4) of any prop in the
@ChampionsCup this season. Power.
– No player has been directly involved in more tries than Gareth Davies in this season’s
– 4 tries, 3 assists). Spark.
% – Only two players attempted more penalty goals without missing than Isa Nacewa (6/6) in the @ChampionsCup pool stage – overall he missed just one of his 10 kicks at goal. Accurate.
– Johnny Sexton was involved in a try every 47 minutes in the @ChampionsCup pool stage (3 tries & 1 assist in 189 mins), the best rate of any of the 406 players to play 160+ minutes this season, while Scott Fardy had the best rate of any forward (2T & 1A in 274 mins). Duo.
. – Josua Tuisova averaged 8.8 metres per carry in the @ChampionsCup pool stage this season (352m from 40 carries), the best rate of the 165 players to make more than 30 carries. Impact.
– Leone Nakarawa made the most carries (94) and offloads (17) in the @ChampionsCup pool stage. Flair.
– No player won more jackal turnovers than Levani Botia during the @ChampionsCup pool stages (8, level with Tadhg Beirne), all eight of his turnovers came in this fashion. Groundwork.
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– Morgan Parra assisted two tries with kicks in the
@ChampionsCup, one of just three players to assist multiple tries with the boot – no one assisted more than two. Laser.
– Owen Farrell has scored 81 points in the @ChampionsCup this season, more than any other player. Deadly.
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– Tadhg Beirne won 14 turnovers in total in the
@ChampionsCup pool stage, three more than any other player, while he also missed just one of 75 attempted tackles. Machine.
– Tadhg Furlong didn’t miss a single tackle during this season’s @ChampionsCup pool stage, completing all 37 of his attempted hits. Perfection. -
– Victor Vito assisted three tries in the @ChampionsCup pool stage, more than any other forward. Creative.
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