London Scottish broke an eight game losing streak to down full time opposition in Doncaster Knights at the weekend. The scoreboard denoted a dominant display and a bonus point win but those in the ground know it was a hard fought effort.
In this week’s stat bunker brought to you by Cairnhill Structures we take a look at the game behind the action. Where was the game won and lost, who were the stand out performers and what does it tell us about next weekend’s tantalising clash against Richmond!
Top Line Stats
Saturday’s game was not a one-sided affair by any means with Doncaster more than holding their own throughout. So much so that they actually dominated possession and territory gaining more than 55% in both stats.
However, Scottish kicked for over 200 more metres than their opposition and got over the gainline 45% of the time compared to Doncaster’s 36%.
In defence, Scottish made 50% more tackles than the Knights and also had a 5% better success rate. Scottish narrowly lost the penalty count 13-10 but conceded five fewer turnovers as they worked to contain Doncaster on the day.
Set Piece Battle
Doncaster are famed for a strong set piece and to the eye on the day it looked like they got the upper hand. However, the line out showed a very even picture with both sides winning 80% of their ball.
At scrum time Doncaster did get the nudge winning four penalties to Scottish’s one. However, Scottish only failed to retain possession from the scrum on one occasion as they withstood the pressure to keep parity.
At the maul, Scottish shone mauling Doncaster for more metres than their opposition and winning the only penalty in this area. Scottish also came up with two crucial tries from short range at maul time, a good day all round for Joe Gray’s men.
Stand Out Performers
London Scottish were led by a host of stand out performers this weekend. Noah Ferdinand was the Club’s player of the week with an impact score of 7.4 and a try to finish off the day. Seb Driscoll scored highest in the forwards with another great display.
Seb led the way with 16 tackles in the game closely followed up by Harry Browne who made 15. In the carrying stats Doncaster were lead by Telusa Veainu who carried 20 times for over 100m. Josh Bellamy topped the stats for London Scottish with 56 metres mate and 8 defenders beaten.
Where the Game was Won and Lost
Scottish were able to control much of the match from start to finish despite onslaughts of Doncaster pressure. In the first and third quarters Scottish had to make over 30 tackles in each 20 minute period compared to just over 20 for Doncaster showing the pressure Scottish soaked up. However, in both period they didn’t yield a point and picked up 10 of their own through a try and a penalty.
Scottish also dominated the kicking battle throughout, consistently kicking more frequently and for more metres. This allowed them to get out from under pressure and work their way up the field when needed. An 100% goal kicking record from Sean Kerr and Tom Wilstead also contributed to a famous win.
Scottish’s ability to retain possession was also key. Doncaster gave away 18 turnovers across the 80 minutes compared to 10 of London Scottish. In the second quarter Doncaster gave up possession four times whilst Scottish never yielded it.
Scottish now look ahead to a massive game against Richmond on Saturday as they take on the local rivals. Both sides sit towards the bottom of the table but if Scottish can perform like they did last weekend then another big result is very much possible.
