The International Rugby Board (IRB) have released its statistical and analytical review of the 2005 6 Nations Championship. And it makes for some startling reading.
The International Rugby Board (IRB) have released its statistical and analytical review of the 2005 6 Nations Championship. And it makes for some startling reading.
Of particular interest to Ireland’s players, management and supporters alike, will be the following stats:
* Only 15% of the passes throughout the entire tournament were made by forwards. The Irish forwards made just one pass in the entire first half of their match against Scotland. In Ireland’s five matches, the total amount of passes made by the Irish scrum-half exceeded the total number of passes made by the rest of the team
* Ireland scored 12 tries, conceded 9 and kicked 14 penalty goals
* Eddie O’Sullivan’s side scored a try for every 6 minutes 42 seconds that they were in possession – compared with Wales (5:04), France (6:34) and England (6:39). Ireland conceded a try for every 9 minutes 41 seconds that the opposition was in possession – compared with France (14:30), England (13:03) and Wales (11:47)
* Ireland boasted the best kicking rate at the end of the Championship – 77%. Grand Slam winners Wales (71%) were second
* Ireland spent, on average, 16 minutes 4 seconds in possession – the lowest record of the competing nations. England topped that particular table with 21:17
* Ireland made the least rucks/mauls, the least passes, but made the most kicks through the Championship. Ireland were also the least penalised team
* 71 tries were scored in this year’s 15 Championship matches – 70% were scored by backs, and 30% by forwards, e.g. 34 backs and 19 forwards. The 71-try total was three more than the 2004 tournament’s tally
* Together with Italy and Scotland, Ireland scored most of their tries in the second half
* The average length of a 2005 6 Nations match was 91 minutes 24 seconds – an increase of 58 seconds from last year. In 2005, the average ball in play time was 35 minutes 28 seconds (44%)
* Ireland averaged 106 passes per match – the lowest tally of the six competing nations, with England topping the list with 156. 50% of Ireland’s passes were made by their scrum-half, 41% by their backs and 9% by their forwards
* The Scotland v Wales match had the highest ball in play time ever recorded at senior international level – 55% or 43 minutes 45 seconds. It also contained the highest ever amount of passes (428), eclipsing the famous 1973 meeting between the Barbarians and New Zealand by a clear 150
* In Ireland’s first three matches in the 2005 tournament, Eddie O’Sullivan’s side averaged 78 passes. In comparison, Scotland made almost as many passes in their match against Wales as Ireland did in their ties with Italy, Scotland and England combined
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