Rugby - not set pieces

Some comments over the last couple of months:

Commentators

• Brian Moore during France v England on Alain Rolland's inconsistency in his scrum decisions: “It doesn't matter to me that he can speak French fluently: it just means he gets it wrong in two languages.”

• Andrew Cotter and Brian Moore (again) were commentating during the England v Ireland test. Cotter remarked on a put-into the Ireland scrum by Reddan:

Cotter: “That was straight !!”
Moore: “That's why (Best) couldn't hook it: he was surprised.”

• Tony Johnson Blues v Hurricanes as a scrum was about to pack and the reserve prop was on: “That's Michael Bent; not a great surname for a prop.”

Incidentally Bent is Irish qualified and because Ireland teams are now being more constrained from using foreigners, Greg Feek, the Leinster scrum coach, picked up Bent for his team in 2012/13. According to Feek he can play on both heads, and, in his mid 20s, he fills in a gap between their old props and their promising young guys.

• Matt Stevenson during Chiefs v Hurricanes
- on some players congratulating each other on the field: “There's a lot of slapping going on; it's like a Swedish sauna.
- on the imperturbable Cruden taking a shot at goal with the crowd noisy: “He's not fazed; he's like Rain Man.”

• ABC radio – Tahs v Reds The commentators exchange was something like:
- “Slipper's foot slipped in the scrum”
- “It would with a name like that.”

• Mark Robson during the Saracens v Clermont HC Quarter Final, when the France 6N LHP Vincent Debaty came off the bench for Clermont: “I shared a lift with him yesterday in the hotel; didn't really share it: I spent most of the journey from the ground floor to the third floor with my nose pressed against the side of it. He is massive.”

• Robson again, after Dean Ryan had done a Kafer type analysis using a TV pen: “I haven't seen so many many arrows since Custer's last stand.” Dewi Morris: “They're all going into the Saracens at the moment aren't they?”


Players

• Michael Hooper at a half time interview: “It's hard in there: we're having to work our rings off at the moment.” Ouch, but it was a painful first half for the Brumbies, come to think of it.


Referees

• Wayne Barnes Quins v Bath as had to re-set the scrum after his CTPE call was a bit hasty and the players were even faster, and fell down: “That was a bit too rushed, including by me.” Indeed, I'd hate to be your girlfriend on that performance Wayne.

• Mark Lawrence Cheetahs v Lions when the front rows weren't close enough before the crouch: “Gentlemen, you're too far from the mark, that's why you fall over the cliff”. Nice to see that some refs know what's going on.

• Crawford Findlay in England v Wales 1904 pinged Wales scrummie Dicky Owens so often for crooked feeds that Dicky invited his opponent to feed all the scrums for the rest of the game. I don't think that Dicky would have a problem these days.
.

Here are some goal kicking stats I've done on the back of an envelope for players who have attempted 20 or more kicks at goal - excluding field goals - in Super Rugby. The first two columns of figures are - successful kicks - kicks attempted.

[Up to the end of Rd.7]

C. Leali'ifano - Brumbies - 27 30 - 90.0%

J. Goosen - Cheetahs - 39 46 - 84.8%

J. O'Connor - Rebels - 24 29 - 82.8%

M. Harris - Reds - 19 23 - 82.6%

A. Cruden - Chiefs - 31 38 - 81.6%

D.Harvey - Force - 20 25 - 80.0%

P. Lambie - Sharks - 23 30 - 76.7%

M. Steyn - Bulls - 36 47 - 76.6%

T.Bleyendaal - Crusaders - 15 21 - 71.4%

D. Halangahu - Waratahs - 17 24 - 70.8%

B. Barrett - Hurricanes - 33 47 - 70.2%

J. Pietersen - Stormers - 27 40 - 67.5%

Does anybody know of any stat site that does these cumulative stats for players so I don't have to work them out?

These are the stats I have for the 15 Super teams:

Cheetahs - 81.6%

Chiefs - 81.6%

Rebels - 81.1%

Lions - 78.1%

Waratahs - 77.1%

Sharks- 75.0%

Force - 75.0%

Bulls - 74.0%

Blues - 71.8%

Stormers - 71.7%

Crusaders - 71.4%

Brumbies - 70.7%

Hurricanes - 70.0%

Reds - 70.0%

Highlanders - 67.4%

.

Commentators

• There was a nasty incident when Wyatt Crockett appeared to be reckless with a head high tackle on Siya Kolisi for the Crusaders v Stormers, and got a yellow card.

Justin Marshall – “I don't have any problems with people being disciplined for illegal, foul play, or dangerous play, but that was not dangerous....that was a jerk reaction with his hand.”

Tony Johnson – “I don't think I'll get you to elaborate on what you mean by a jerk reaction Justin.”

Agree, Tony: what a wanker.


• Scott Stevenson during Highlanders v Blues at the new indoor Forsyth Barr stadium, as Gareth Anscombe was lining up a conversion of a try scored in the corner: “Anscombe - from about as far out as you can get unless you're ordering a pie.”

Geez, those food queues at “The Toast Rack” must be horrendous.


• Stevenson again - In the same game, scrummie Aaron Smith went on a snipe and didn't succeed in stepping Charlie Faumuina who won the turnover and a penalty by using his bulk: “There was a lot of Charlie to get around …. Faumuina was like a giant, gaseous planet, who just sucked everybody in, in his own magnetic field.”

Indeed, Charlie had a stellar performance in that game.


• Ex-Wallaby Ross Reynolds on ABC radio after Jonathan Kaplan threw his arm up to favour the home team in the Waratahs v Rebels game after one scrum reset too many: “He's just guessed that: he's had enough.”

Kaplan pinging on the vibe in favour of the Tahs? A nice change, but too late for Al Baxter.


• At the same game when the ABC commentators were lamenting the lack of energy in the Sydney fans and comparing it to what the Reds supporters provided:

John Morrison (politely): “They're a studious crowd.”

Jim Maxwell: something like - “They'd be good at a Sheffield Shield game.”

[LG - Maybe they would respond better if the Tahs played more often as they did in the first 26 seconds against the Rebels.]


• In Bulls v Brumbies the affable Warren Broshihan was commending the play of Fotu Aulea of the Brumbies to Victor Matfield who had played with Fotu at Toulon:

Matfield: “He played at Toulon for 3 years; the last year he played there he played at centre; so he's a very skilful player at 8.”

Brosnihan: “You spent time in the centres yourself Vic.”

Matfield: “Quite a bit of time out there Brosie. If you've got the skill, you've got to use it, eh?”
.

Thanks - but it doesn't list the cumulative number of conversions and penalty kicks as I do on my spreadsheet, nor the cumulative %. Nor does it give a % stat for every Super team, which my spreadsheet does automatically.

Grant - not forgotten, but not considered as I listed only those kickers who had made 20 attempts - or more - as at the end of Rd.7

I do this after every round since I haven't seen a stats site that does it. I will update in this thread in a couple of weeks for others to look at.

Referees

• In the 26th minute of Munster v Glasgow the game stopped and Nigel Owens seemed to be making a personal call on his mobile phone during the down time. The Glasgow players gave him a bit of banter – but he was really on the job: Munster 15. Felix Jones had gone to ground near the goal line and Nigel was calling the TMO because the referees' comms weren't working.



• Early in the Sharks v Chiefs game 5. Anton Bresler tries to pull down a Chiefs maul after the lineout was completed and in doing so puts his body in a place that slows the Chiefs drive. 1. Sione Taumaloa gives Bresler some slipper as the maul walks over him. It's a penalty to the Sharks and referee Garratt Williamson has a word to the culprit:

Referee: “A Shark's player is on the ground; you've stamped on him.”
Player: “I tried to step over him.”
Referee: “Well, you didn't do it successfully.”

Sione was lucky that he wasn't stepping his way to the bin IMO – or the change room, but it was a bit over the top for commentator Robbie Kempson to say: “He got away with a bit of murder there...” . You did your share of that Robbie, back in the day.
.

Thanks - I was just looking at the page that came up when I clicked on the other link which didn't have a category for success rate - just most this and most that. However the required stat appears in the category when I click on the 2nd link you provided.

Unfortunately some of the details are wrong - or more likely they have updated some stats from last weekend but not others. For example the first two on the list (as I write this) are P.Grant and D.Cipriani. Grant's kicks from the weekend are included but Cipriani's penalty miss at the SFS is not.

I'll track the site to see when during a week they finish their stats for the previous weekend. It will be a handy check.

I think I will keep doing my spreadsheet because it automatically calculates the success stats for each team and for each conference and for the tournament as a whole.

Thanks again Cave Dweller.

Edit - Some of those figures are bogus even if they haven't finished inputting last weekend's figures.

I've just had a look at the 3rd kicker on the list, Sam Lane. He didn't get a chance to kick in Rd. 9 but in Rd. 7, his first game, he missed his first two kicks, which were penalties, then got two conversions, then two penalties - 4 out of 6, but they have him at 4 out of 4.

Haven't bothered to look at anybody else further down the list.
.

Clermont will have their work out to beat favourites Leinster in the Heineken Cup semi-final on Saturday in Bordeaux. I bet they wished they were playing at their home ground of Stade Marcel Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand.

They have a good record there, at least in the Top14. Last weekend they defeated Montpellier which meant they had been undefeated at home in the tournament in 42 games.
.