All the talk may be about Ireland and France heading into the last round of action but when it comes to stats, the All Blacks top the charts by a fair bit.
New Zealand’s massive win over Italy may have made this a bit lopsided, but with the Springboks already having completed their fixtures in the pool phase and France, New Zealand and Ireland still having another game this weekend, it isn’t surprising to find those four teams dominate all stats across the competition.
But despite the All Blacks doubters after their loss against France, Ian Foster’s side have made an indelible impression on the stats across the park, and are clear leaders all over when the teams are compared to each other.
It may be the draw and the quality of the teams in their pool, but it won’t be a surprise that New Zealand top the points scored at this World Cup with 180. Ireland are second with 154, the Springboks third with 151 and France fourth with 150.
That’s a trend that flows through the stats as the teams are weighed up against each other. The quality on the one side of the draw against more competitive contests between more evenly matched competition on the other side of the draw.
TRY TIME
New Zealand have scored 27 tries - the most of any team as well, although the Springboks are second with 22, Ireland third with 21 and France and Scotland - another team on that side of the draw on 19 tries for the tournament.
Scotland’s attacking game is what gives them hope against the Irish this weekend, and it isn’t a surprise to see them feature rather heavily in the offloads and clean breaks department.
New Zealand lead the stats with 49 clean breaks in the tournament, with Scotland second on 42, showing they can unlock defences when they need to. Ireland (32), France (31) and South Africa (25) are the other teams in the top five.
Scotland are the tournament’s offload kings, leading with 44, 10 more than second placed Ireland before a surprise appearance is made by Australia with 31 offloads in the tournament despite their poor performance overall.
France (30) and New Zealand (29) round out that top five as well.
When it comes to tackles, the Springbok defence has certainly been a hallmark, but the tackle kings of the tournament belong to South American side Chile, who have made a monster 529 tackles.
Japan are second with 506 while the return to Warrenball has seen Wales level on second with 506 and the Springboks fourth with 498. No other top team is in the top 5 with Georgia rounding out the top five.
The Springboks also have made the most dominant tackles by a country mile - 59 - ahead of Georgia’s 45 and Chile’s 44, but underlining their ability to defend for long periods as well.
The Springboks can’t add to any of their tallies and will watch quietly as the other sides battle it out this weekend to determine the eight quarterfinalists.
