Welcome to this week’s stat bunker where we analyse the game that was and tell your where it was won and lost, who stood out and what that stats tell us going forwards.
A special edition this week as we look at a timeless derby game against old foes Richmond. Just a point separated the teams but what did the stats tell us.
Top Line Stats
Despite an incredibly tight nature of the final result, the stats tell an interesting story. Richmond dominated possession and territory with over 60% of the ball and nearly 70% of territory, however, could not make the most of it.
Richmond also dominated the offloading tally with 11 to London Scottish’s 2, however, the Scots made 10 clean breaks to Richmond’s 4 as they were more incisive when they had it.
The penalty count favoured Richmond with 9 conceded to London Scottish’s 9. However, Richmond gave up possession 15 times to London Scottish’s 9 times showing how Scottish were the more clinical of the two sides.
Set Piece Battle
The set piece battle was overall a tight one. Scottish edged it at line out time winning 5% more ball compared to Richmond as they were that touch more clinical in possession.
Both sides were pitch perfect at the scrum, with no penalties won for either side and neither side giving up posession.
Richmond used their maul more prolifically than Scottish mauling for 35 metres compared to Scottish’s 12 and scoring 2 tries off the back of it. Both sides were able to milk penalties at the maul and build territory as a result.
Stand Out Performers
Saturday saw some incredible individual performers from both sides. London Scottish’s Harry Clayton being one of them as he racked up 30 tackles in his eighty minute display. He also carried the most out of the forwards, 13 times, and beat 3 defenders in his game.
Hayden Hyde, topped the charts for the backs, running for 83 metres, just in front of Josh Bellamy’s 81 metres. He beat 4 defenders and also scored a standout try!
Where the Game was Won and Lost
Ruck speed was a key feature of the game and perhaps was a key indicator as to why Scottish were able to do so much with such little ball. In the opposition 22 Scottish averaged less than 3 seconds per ruck and only 3.1 seconds in Richmond’s half. However, Richmond averaged over 4 seconds in Scottish’s 22 and almost 3.5 seconds in the Exiles’ half.
Discipline also play a role in the game. Richmond went down to 14 men on 3 occasions through yellow cards whilst Scottish picked up a sin bin just once. Penalties themselves also played a big role in the game, in the second half as Richmond built back into the game Scottish gave away 7 penalties to Richmond’s 4.
Scottish consistently kicked more than Richmond throughout the eighty minutes as they were content to give the opposition the ball and let them run. A risky strategy that just about paid off in the end!
