A tough afternoon out for London Scottish as they travelled to Ealing this weekend. Facing the unbeaten league leaders was always going to be a tall order but Scottish failed to impose themselves on the game and fell to a heavy defeat.
However, what to the stats tell us about the game and where the improvements are needed. Brought to you by Cairnhill Structures, dive deep into this week’s Stat Bunker.
On the face of it the top line stats don’t tell too one-sided a story. Ealing edged possession but territory was even for the eighty minutes showing that it was the clinical edge of the home side that proved crucial.
Ealing carried the ball 20% more than their opposition and also carried the ball for almost three times more metres than London Scottish.
In defence the teams diverged massively though, Scottish only made 72% of their 158 tackle attempts whilst Ealing made 92% of their 138 tackle attempts showing just how potent they were in attack.
The set-piece is an area that Ealing are famed for this season, however, Scottish operated manfully in this area and got parity at least all round. The Exiles won 90% of their scrums, giving away just a couple of scrum penalties against a top class pack.
At the line out the Scots won 93% of their ball, more than their opponents and went onto milk a couple of maul penalties and a penalty try from the maul. A strong showing all round and a demonstration of how the Exiles can perform in this area.
Scottish struggled to impose themselves on the game and as a result individuals struggled to shine through. Marijn Huis contributed manfully with 11 tackles on the day.
Whilst Tom Marshall put himself about with 13 carries throughout the eighty minutes. Bailey Ransom hit 24 rucks in the game closely followed by Marjin Huis who also hit 23 on his own.
Again discipline was a key factor for London Scottish, giving away 13 penalties across the game and eight unforced errors despite relatively little ball in the match.
A key stat on the day was defenders beaten, in every quarter Ealing dwarfed London Scottish by a factor of five or six as they were incredibly potent in attack.
Metres made was also a key stat. In the final quarter Scottish game back in, winning that battle but were well out played on the other three which is where Ealing scored the majority of their points. Just showing that dominating this area was key facet of the game.
