At the half way point of the season and just a few days from the resumption of Champ Rugby, it’s time to look at the state of play as we enter the run in.
London Scottish finished the first half of the season on a high with better and better performances as well as two wins against Doncaster and Richmond.
We look into what caused the upturn in form but also what London Scottish have to do for the rest of the season to climb the table and have success.
Set Piece
Scottish’s set piece has generally operated well this season. Over 90% success rate at scrum time on their own ball. Against Richmond crucially this rocked to 100% giving the backs the platform the play which resulted in a sensational try in the opening minutes of the game.
At the line out Scottish have hit an 80% success rate for the season. Also stealing an average of a line out per game. This again rocketed to 89% against Richmond as Scottish held a strong platform
At the maul Scottish have averaged just under 6 mauls a game, whilst in the last two games Scottish have opted to maul 4 and 3 times. Showing that using the tight exchanges sparingly has been a more successful tactic for the exiles.
Attack
Scottish have been efficient at ruck time all season, average a ruck success rate of 87% throughout the season. However, against Richmond and Doncaster this jumped to 95% and 100%. The ability to hang onto possession is key and has made a big difference to the Scots.
As we will go onto see, Scottish have opted for a kick heavy strategy this season and as a result carry sparingly. This links to their high percentage of ruck completion as they only carry on average 300m per game with just under 100 carries a game.
In their two most recent wins both of these metrics dropped with just 77 and 94 carries in each game, showing that Scottish are at their most effective when they are at their most deliberate with ball in hand. Underlying this is that in their victories, London Scottish’s gain line percentage increased and ineffective carry percentage decreased.
Defence
London Scottish have hit a tackle success rate of 75% this season which has perhaps added to issues at times. However, in the two most recent games, their success rate has jumped to 84% in both games. Showing that their defensive capabilities has gone up signficantly.
The volume of tackles was also a big factor, against Richmond, the Scots attempted over 275 tackles compared to an average of 130 this season, a herculean effort.
Kick Battle
As mentioned, London Scottish have opted for a kick heavy strategy this season. The Exiles, for the second most metres and the second most frequently in the league. This remained true in their last two outings, kicking almost 40 times against Richmond for nearly 1000m, keeping their opposition pinned in their own half.
