2017 Six Nations: Stat Kings
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2017 Six Nations: Stat Kings
'The stats don't lie' is the cliché thrown around when the best player and teams are analysed and with the Six Nations kicking off this weekend we take a look at who were the Stat Kings during the 2017 version of the competition.
Defence
Tackling King - Joe Launchbury
It's hard to see why Joe Launchbury was not on the plane to New Zealand with the British and Irish Lions after a fantastic 6 Nations campaign with England.
The tireless lock made 85 tackles in England's 5 games (averaging 17 per game) edging out Wales Justin Tipuric by a single tackle.
Turnover King - Maro Itoje
The 2017 World Rugby Player of the Nominee started all five of England's 6 Nations matches on the side of the scrum and was able to claim 9 turnovers during the competition (1.8 per game), one more than Scotland's Alex Dunbar and two more than Wales' Sam Warburton.
Points
Points Machine - Camille Lopez
France will surely miss Camille Lopez's accurate boot in 2018 after he maintained a 89% kick success ratio in 2017 accumulating 67 - 4 points more than England's Owen Farrell who maintained a 78% kicking success ratio.
Lopez will miss the entire 6 Nations after suffering an injury back in October.
Try Scoring Kings - 8-way tie
No player was able to score more than 3 tries in 2017 with George North, Liam Williams, CJ Stander, Jonathan Joseph, Stuart Hogg, Danny Care, Craig Gilroy and Keith Earls all scoring 3 tries with Gilroy having the highest strike rate as he scored all three of his tries off the bench in Ireland's 63-10 win over Italy.
Assist Kings - Stuart Hogg & Paddy Jackson
Hogg and Jackson both assisted 3 tries in 2017 one better than 10 other players who assisted 2 tries in their 5 games.
Attacking
Defenders Beaten - Louis Picamoles
The French no.8 has been excluded from Jacques Brunel's 2018 6 Nations squad despite the 31-year-old's outstanding form during the 2017 6 Nations.
Picamoles beat 24 defenders during the 2017 6 Nations - 9 more than his closest competitor Mike Brown. He averaged just short of 5 defenders beaten per match.
Carrying the team - CJ Stander
Stander was Ireland's go-to man for ball carries during the 2017 Six Nations making 104 carries during the competition (27 more than Louis Picomoles), which works out to 20.8 carries per match.
Racking up the Metres - Mike Brown
England's fullback Mike Brown ran 71 metres more than any other player during the 2017 Six Nations, carrying the ball 432 metres. (Averaging 86.4 per match)
Offload King - Louis Picamoles
This is the 2nd time category that Picamoles topped in 2017 as he made completed 18 offloads during the 2017 6 Nations.
His closest competitor was his fellow countryman Noa Nakaitaci who completed 11 offloads.
