RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2)
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@Daffy-Jaffy This article has some stats for the 8 QF teams based on pool play. Aura makes an appearance too.
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TOKYO, 15 Oct – After four intense weeks of competition, the quarter-finals of Rugby World Cup 2019 are upon us. Here our stats team take a look at the key statistical trends that have emerged from the pool stage and evaluate what this could mean for some of the heavyweight encounters ahead.
How do you solve a problem like New Zealand?
Heading into this World Cup, there were murmurs that the All Blacks were looking unusually vulnerable, their aura of invincibility tarnished by a string of sub-par performances, which culminated in a heavy Rugby Championship defeat by Australia in mid-August.
But over the course of three pool-stage matches, the question marks have steadily receded and they go into the game against Ireland as clear favourites. The 1987, 2011 and 2015 champions appear to be peaking at the right time. New Zealand are supreme for almost all of the main attacking metrics, although two of their three matches were against Tier 2 opponents Namibia and Canada.
With their lightning transition from defence to attack, the All Blacks rank top for metres gained, clean breaks and defenders beaten, and, unsurprisingly, have completed more offloads than any other team.
Worryingly for Ireland, the All Blacks are the only team left to boast a 100 per cent scrum success record, while their kickers have the highest conversion percentage (84 per cent) of any of the quarter-finalists.
But there are aspects of their game Ireland can call on to improve their chances. For starters, this match pits the most lethal attacking force against the tournament’s most miserly defence. When Ireland recorded their historic 16-9 win over New Zealand last November, above, they defended as though their lives depended on it and they could again prove tricky to break down.
Despite being in arguably the toughest pool, Ireland have only conceded two tries, and have the best tackle success percentage of any team at the World Cup. What is more, no side has missed fewer tackles.
In addition, the Springboks exposed a handful of weaknesses in the All Blacks in their opening weekend clash, most notably at the lineout where they managed to exert huge pressure.
New Zealand have the lowest lineout success rate of any of the teams left in the competition, although at 90 per cent, this is still very high. The lineout was an area Ireland exploited to the full when they beat New Zealand last year, and it will be very much in their plans as they prepare for Saturday’s clash.
Kicking holds key to Welsh success
The pool stages were a mixed bag for Wales, going from the high of their brilliant win over Australia to mixed displays against Fiji and Uruguay. In particular, Wales looked vulnerable defensively at times and the stats show that they have missed more tackles than any of the eight teams left in the tournament.
Welsh handling was poor at times against Uruguay and they repeatedly squandered opportunities, making 16 handling errors compared to just six in their clinical display against Australia. Wales know they will need to improve on this against France, but one area they can be confident in is their kicking.
In Dan Biggar, Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Patchell, below, Wales have one of the most reliable kicking trios in the game. They have the second-best conversion record (83 per cent) of all the quarter-finalists, just behind New Zealand, and that could go a long way to helping them past France.
Wallabies living dangerously
In most previous World Cup clashes between England and Australia, the scrum has been absolutely crucial. The dominant English forwards bullied the Wallabies into submission in the 2007 quarter-finals, while Australia returned the favour as they knocked England out of their own World Cup four years ago.
This time around, the scrum may be an area of concern for the Wallabies rather than a strength. They ranked 15th out of the 20 nations for scrum success rate during the pool stages and the Wallabies have also struggled with poor discipline. Of the eight quarter-finalists, no team has received more yellow cards so far than Australia, and only France have conceded more penalties.
The Wallabies know they will need to tighten up considerably if they are to reach another World Cup semi-final.
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@Snowy said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
France adapted better to the Ref than we did.
France adapted better to the lack of a ref than we did.
McCaw's captaincy, or lack of, was also a key factor. He was anything but Mr Cool, calm and collected in that game.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
McCaw's captaincy, or lack of, was also a key factor. He was anything but Mr Cool, calm and collected in that game.
was the making of the man as a Captain that game....
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@JC said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
Always thought Ireland would be a great place to host a RWC.
Yeah, the capital has some fabulous stadiums. Wembley, Emirates and West Ham’s home are all terrific 😉
👏😁
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Oh yeah - and set the foundations, with Ted, for a golden era.
Pity the horrible loss had to happen
when I was at the gameat RWC 2019 -
@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
Pity the horrible loss had to happen
when I was at the gameat RWC 2019er, slip??
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@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Snowy said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
France adapted better to the Ref than we did.
France adapted better to the lack of a ref than we did.
McCaw's captaincy, or lack of, was also a key factor. He was anything but Mr Cool, calm and collected in that game.
That drove the formation of the senior players' management group they have now didn't it? Something good came out of it (2011, 2015.....)
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@taniwharugby said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
Pity the horrible loss had to happen
when I was at the gameat RWC 2019er, slip??
Yeah. Big mistake accepting that match ticket. Curse of the Meldrew's really struck that night
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@Victor-Meldrew was more that you had typed 'at RWC 2019'
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Ah, OK. Blame the 4th glass of Romanian Pinot
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@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Snowy said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
France adapted better to the Ref than we did.
France adapted better to the lack of a ref than we did.
McCaw's captaincy, or lack of, was also a key factor. He was anything but Mr Cool, calm and collected in that game.
I have something in common with Richie then. I was getting quite irate with young Wayne as well -albeit from the stands.
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Yep, Barnes completely lost it in that game - awful, awful performance. Les Frogs were just way smarter at exploiting it.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
Yep, Barnes completely lost it in that game - awful, awful performance. Les Frogs were just way smarter at exploiting it.
Reminded me of lunchtime rugby at school, we didn't have a ref then either.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
Oh yeah - and set the foundations, with Ted, for a golden era.
Pity the horrible loss had to happen
when I was at the gameat RWC 20192019?
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@Snowy said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
Yep, Barnes completely lost it in that game - awful, awful performance. Les Frogs were just way smarter at exploiting it.
Reminded me of lunchtime rugby at school, we didn't have a ref then either.
BULLRUSH!!!!!
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@voodoo said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
no one cares about what they do...WE need to score more points than them, WE need to play better, WE need to win.
WE WE WE all the way home!
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@taniwharugby said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@voodoo said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
no one cares about what they do...WE need to score more points than them, WE need to play better, WE need to win.
WE WE WE all the way home!
My bad 😅
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@voodoo said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
Jeez boys, a lot of WE did this, WE didn't do that, the ref blah blah. Not much credit for anything the oppo did.
WE weren't talking about them.
Cheese eating surrender monkeys, mutter, mutter, mutter, boat bombing fluffybunnies, mutter, mutter, mutter.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Snowy said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2):
France adapted better to the Ref than we did.
France adapted better to the lack of a ref than we did.
McCaw's captaincy, or lack of, was also a key factor. He was anything but Mr Cool, calm and collected in that game.
yep. who can forget the frogs scoring and the AB's being in a huddle and richie just off to the side..
who else should have been captain in that team though?
