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Rugby

Opta’s team of the tournament

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1 year ago

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If 2011 and 2015 was Black to Black, then 2019 and 2023 is Bok to Bok. Winning the Rugby World Cup is hard enough to do once but doing it in consecutive editions takes something special.

The winning mentality of this current South Africa unit is beyond special, triumphing in all their World Cup knockout games in 2023 by just a single point, refusing to be beaten, whatever it takes.

A total of 48 games were played in this World Cup, with plenty of memories forged along the way that will live long into rugby folklore. Incredible feats of attacking brilliance paired with defensive bravery and resolve.

Using the unique Opta Index – which objectively scores each player’s performances throughout the campaign – we can select the best XV of the tournament.

We go through each selection and back up their inclusion with some pertinent statistics, also flagging some players who were unlucky to miss out in key positions.

15. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)

Beauden Barrett

All three Barrett brothers ranked in our top 30 players overall for the tournament, but Beauden is the one to feature in this XV. In the final he became the first ever player to score in two men’s Rugby World Cup finals, he also ranked joint first for metres gained (492) in the tournament, a ranking he also topped in 2019 (460).

Close: Davit Niniashvili (Georgia), Thomas Ramos (France).

14. Damian Penaud (France)

Damian Penaud

Defeat in the last eight by South Africa denied Penaud the chance to etch his name firmly into French legend, yet he still made more breaks than any player in the tournament (13), crossed for six tries and provided five assists. No Frenchman has scored more tries in a World Cup (Vincent Clerc in 2011 and Jean-Baptiste Lafond in 1991 also scored six).

Close: Mark Telea (NZ), Raffaele Storti (Portugal), James Lowe (Ireland).

13. Garry Ringrose (Ireland)

Garry Ringrose

Quarter-final heartbreak yet again but Ringrose was at his creative best, his six try assists are the most by an Ireland player in a men’s Rugby World Cup. Only one centre made more breaks (seven) than him as well, team-mate Bundee Aki (10).

12. Bundee Aki (Ireland)

Bundee Aki

One of the standout players of the tournament, without doubt, again with a curtailed campaign. Scored five tries, made the most carries of any back (81) and was the only player to make 45+ carries and have a dominant carry rate of 50%+ (54%). He also made 10 breaks and beat 30 defenders, ranking third in both of those categories.

11. Will Jordan (New Zealand)

Will Jordan

Jordan crossed for eight tries in the tournament, equalling the record for most tries in an edition of a men’s Rugby World Cup held by Jonah Lomu (1999), Bryan Habana (2007) and Julian Savea (2015). The 25-year-old also made the second most breaks (12) as well as the most dominant tackles (eight) by an All Black.

10. Richie Mo’unga (New Zealand)

Richie Mo'unga

Mo’unga is a rare all-rounder in the 10 jersey, a creative and dangerous ball carrier and distributor as well as a shrewd tactical kicker. In this World Cup he made the most break passes (six), gained the most metres (352) and beat more defenders (21) than any other fly-half.

Close: Matthieu Jalibert (France).

9. Antoine Dupont (France)

Antoine Dupont

Injury looked like it would derail Dupont’s World Cup, but in the end it was the Springboks who really shattered his dream. Limited to just 200 minutes of action he still made the joint most offloads (10) of anyone in the tournament, avoided 55% of the tackles that players tried to make on him and created five breaks, the most of any scrum-half.

Close: Aaron Smith (NZ), Alex Mitchell (England).

8. Ardie Savea (New Zealand)

Ardie Savea

Savea is a relentless force, in fact he was the only player to rank in the top 10 on both the attack and defence-specific categories of the Opta Index. He beat 27 defenders, the joint most by a forward in an edition of the men’s World Cup (Italy’s Jake Polledri 27 in 2019), while his 22 carries in the final was the most by any player in a men’s World Cup final. Savea was also directly involved in more tries than any other forward (three tries, four assists).

Close: Caelan Doris (Ireland), Ben Earl (England).

7. Nicolas Martins (Portugal)

Nicolas Martins

Martins was arguably the breakthrough player of the World Cup. His gainline success rate of 79% was the second best of any forward to make 20+ carries in the tournament. He also won 24 line-outs, including four steals, and averaged 16.3 tackles per 80 minutes across Portugal’s impressive campaign.

Close: Jac Morgan (Wales), Charles Ollivon (France).

6. Courtney Lawes (England)

Courtney Lawes

This was Lawes’ swansong, and he went out with a bang, leading England to a third-place finish. As usual he carried hard (35 carries, 10 defenders beaten), tackled strongly (30 tackles) and was a menace at both the breakdown (41 defensive arrivals, 4 breakdown turnovers) and line-out (23 takes, including 3 steals).

Close: Michael Leitch (Japan), Shannon Frizell (New Zealand).

5. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)

Tadhg Beirne

Beirne is a key weapon for Ireland, contributing across the pitch in a variety of ways. He scored three tries in this tournament, made 56/59 tackles and won four turnovers. He also chips in at the line-out, claiming 13 takes on Ireland’s throw and stealing two from the opposition.

4. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)

Brodie Retallick

Retallick was at his barnstorming best at this World Cup, his overall ruck effectiveness rate was the best of anyone to hit 100+ rucks (78%). The giant lock also stole a competition high eight opposition line-outs and made 32 carries and 31 tackles.

Close: Maro Itoje (England), Theo McFarland (Samoa), Franco Mostert (South Africa).

3. Ben Tameifuna (Tonga)

Ben Tameifuna

Tonga captain Tameifuna led from the front throughout this RWC. He won 88% of the scrums he was involved in (22/25) despite finding himself in a pool with Scotland, Ireland and champions South Africa. He also ranked in the top five props for metres gained (69) and defenders beaten (nine) and crossed for a pair of tries.

2. Peato Mauvaka (France)

Peato Mauvaka

A shining light for France who has made the hooker shirt his own. Mauvaka had the best gainline success rate (76%) of any player to make 30+ carries in the tournament and gained more metres (226) and made more breaks (five) than any other front-rower. Only misplaced four of 49 line-out throws too.

Close: Codie Taylor (NZ), Julian Montoya (Argentina).

1. Steven Kitshoff (South Africa)

Steven Kitshoff

Kitshoff was crucial to South Africa’s success, as proved by the fact he is the only Springbok included in this XV. He was one of just six players to hit 40+ attacking and 40+ defensive rucks in the tournament, and the only prop to do so.

Close: Thomas Gallo (Argentina).

Opta's Team of the 2023 World Cup

— Reports /TrainViral/ 

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Rugby

England challenge is to start beating the best

Published

5 months ago

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July 15, 2024

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An international season that started on 5 August in Cardiff ended for England on Saturday in Auckland with a feeling of deja vu in the air.

Just like in Dunedin a week earlier, England had stayed in the fight admirably in the first half, rallying either side of the break to take control and threaten to pull off a historic win, before frustratingly fading in the final quarter as the All Blacks bench proved decisive.

So how should England supporters view the 2-0 series defeat? A tour that showed Steve Borthwick’s side are moving in the right direction? Or a huge missed opportunity?

“Absolutely both,” said skipper Jamie George, who led the group with distinction on his first tour as captain.

England have played South Africa, Ireland and France over the past eight months, in addition to two games against New Zealand. The aggregate score against these top four sides in the world is 101-111, with one narrow win and four narrow defeats.

“We are definitely trending in the right direction,” vice-captain Henry Slade said.

“We are pushing the top four sides now and getting better and better week by week.”

The challenge for England now is to get on the right side of these tussles.

“I don’t want to revisit mistakes,” reflected Borthwick on Sunday in downtown Auckland, shortly before starting the long journey home via Sydney and Singapore.

“In each of those games, we’ve been in a position late in the game in a leading position on the scoreboard.”

‘I need to coach them fast’

There are some key areas where England need to improve if they are to become a genuine force on the world stage.

Keeping the scoreboard moving when matches tighten up – England scored only three second-half points in Auckland and five in Dunedin – as well as shoring up the scrum and being more streetwise are all areas highlighted by Borthwick.

“Test matches at this level are tight encounters, they are decided generally by a penalty or a drop-goal, one moment, one missed kick,” he said.

“That is the nature of it and the players have experienced that, we are going to be better for it. Every one of these has to be a learning experience.”

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After relying on an older core to reach the World Cup semi-finals last year, Borthwick says 2024 has been the “second phase” of his tenure as he goes about building a new team.

“So far in these eight Tests [in 2024] we have had eight new caps,” he explained.

There is youth all across the backline. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is 21. Fin Smith 22. Ollie Sleightholme, 24, made his debut in New Zealand.

Up front, 22-year-old Fin Baxter has come through. Chandler Cunningham-South at 21 and George Martin, only just 23, have continued to emerge. Experience, though, wins tight Test matches. And while Borthwick and his coaches can’t buy experience, they aim to accelerate the players’ learning.

“The England pack has changed from what was traditionally a very big powerful pack to more of a younger, dynamic pack,” Borthwick explained.

“You can see that younger pack developing. I need to coach them as fast as I can.”

‘We have to develop at tight-head’

While depth is building in some areas, other positions still look light with tight-head prop of particular concern. Too much is being asked of 37-year-old Dan Cole, who has now won more caps at prop than any other Englishman.

The scrum creaked in both Tests against the All Blacks.

“I’ll have a conversation with Coley and see what he wants to do,” said Borthwick. “But quite clearly we need to find some more tight-heads. That’s going to be a big development project.

“Will Stuart has done really well in the last couple of Tests. The New Zealand scrum is very good and outside the scrum I thought he did many things very well.

“Part of my next step is to do that kind of planning and decide on the right thing to do. I’m trying to have consistency in selection and build the number of caps, not just individually but together, so we maximise the cohesion.

“That’s clearly with a longer-term goal in mind but we need results now as well. That’s always a challenge the England head coach has. We need results now and we need to be preparing for several years in advance.”

‘World-class Ford to return’

Behind the scrum, England need more back-up to Alex Mitchell at number nine, with neither Harry Randall or Ben Spencer given much game time. Mitchell played the whole 80 minutes in Auckland.

At fly-half Marcus Smith was trusted with running the side throughout the tour, and while he missed some crucial kicks in the first Test against New Zealand, he excelled in Tokyo against Japan and set up three of England’s four tries against the All Blacks.

Namesake Fin came off the bench twice but didn’t have long enough to impose himself.

“I thought Marcus has done some really good things, when you see the ability he has to see space, to create tries, to open up a defence,” Borthwick said.

Meanwhile, the England boss was unequivocal when asked whether 96-cap George Ford still had a role to play after missing the tour through injury. If Ford returns to form and fitness, he could well wear number 10 again in the autumn.

“He is world class and I thought his performance in the Six Nations was exceptional,” Borthwick said.

“The three of them – Fin Smith, George Ford and Marcus – it puts us in a pretty enviable position.”

‘We have fight and spirit’

England’s players will now get a minimum five-week break before returning to their clubs. The new Professional Game Partnership between clubs and the Rugby Football Union has been agreed, which will give Borthwick slightly more control over a core group of 20 or so players.

Their next assignment in a white jersey will be at Twickenham in November with – fittingly – the All Blacks first up.

“We owe them one,” said George.

“To get the results we need to be tactically smart and we’ve got to be really well organised,” continued Borthwick.

“But fundamentally, there’s got to be something that sits underneath all that and that is the fight and spirit that we have within the team.

“What you see in this England team now is fight and spirit, and we need to make sure that gives us a good foundation for everything we do going forward.”

Reports /Trainviral/

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Rugby

Ben Earl delivered on pre-match pledge

Published

10 months ago

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March 11, 2024

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Ben Earl played a pivotal role in England’s thrilling Twickenham win over Ireland in the Six Nations to deliver on his pre-match prediction.

The number eight scored England’s third try in an all-action display after telling head coach Steve Borthwick how his 29th cap would unfold.

“I sat with Ben on Saturday morning,” said head coach Borthwick. “He talked and showed me what he wanted to do against Ireland.

“He did exactly what he said to me.”

The Saracens back row was tireless with ball in hand and earned his second man-of-the-match award of the championship after winning the same accolade for his performance in last month’s win over Wales.

His impressive development in the role as England’s first choice number eight follows an excellent World Cup campaign and Borthwick says the 26-year-old is “delivering” on his targets.

“It is phenomenal, the thought process he is going through and how ambitious he is as a player to get better,” Borthwick said.

“Ben played his first 15 games off the bench. Even in last year’s Six Nations he played a run of games and then he was out.

“I think he feels backed. I get the impression he feels he is growing as a player and he wants to keep getting better.”

‘Everybody involved with England is under incredible scrutiny’

England’s surprise 23-22 win over defending champions Ireland in the penultimate round has revived faint title ambitions heading into their meeting with France on Saturday.

Ireland remain in pole position to defend their title when they host Scotland, but England’s attacking intent at Twickenham, outscoring their visitors 3-2 on tries, was a huge improvement on their capitulation at Murrayfield.

“Post the Scotland game, there was evidence that the weight of the shirt was on the players,” Borthwick added.

“I believe we need to create a supportive environment. Everybody involved with English rugby is under incredible scrutiny. That’s just the way it is.

“There’s incredible expectation and I’d rather be involved in a team where there is expectation upon it than not.

“But with that I want to make sure that young players are coming into a supportive environment. I want to see their point of difference on the grass.

“Mistakes are going to happen and we are understanding of that, but we don’t want to repeat mistakes. We have got to learn fast.

“The team went through a difficult experience at Murrayfield, reviewed it properly and then addressed it on the training field.

“The players weren’t perfect against Ireland, they made mistakes, but at Murrayfield I thought we made a mistake and then went into ourselves, played a little bit small.

“Against Ireland they made errors and got into the next battle. If there is anything I can encourage the players to do, it is go into the next battle.”

— Reports /TrainViral/ 

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Rugby

Marshall Sykes recalled to Scotland squad

Published

10 months ago

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March 4, 2024

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Edinburgh lock Marshall Sykes has been recalled by Scotland for the first time in two years as the squad prepares for Saturday’s Six Nations game in Italy.

Gregor Townsend has called up 24-year-old Sykes for the first time since the 2022 Six Nations in place of Scarlets second row Alex Craig.

Oyonnax’s Rory Sutherland and Javan Sebastian of Edinburgh are recalled as Edinburgh prop WP Nel, 37, drops out.

Glasgow Warriors scrum-half Jamie Dobie is also called back in to the squad.

Veteran forward Nel, who played for Edinburgh against Ospreys on Friday, has not featured in this season’s championship and Scotland are threadbare in the prop department.

Sebastian has been in and out of the squad as he searches for full fitness while Sutherland – a British and Irish Lion in 2021 – was a surprise absentee from the initial squad.

He admitted his disappointment at missing out on the initial pool to Le French Rugby Podcast but is now recalled despite rarely featuring for the French Top 14 side since the World Cup.

Scotland are already without locks Richie and Jonny Gray as well as Cameron Henderson.

Glasgow Warriors centre Sione Tuipulotu has been ruled out of Saturday’s game in Italy because of the injury he picked up in the Calcutta Cup win over England that is expected to rule him out for at least eight weeks.

Darcy Graham is also ruled out and will play no part in the championship for the second year in succession.

Dobie has already trained with the squad in the opening rounds and joins Ben White, Ali Price and George Horne as the scrum-halves in the squad.

Six Nations 2024: BBC rugby team play The Traitors

— Reports /TrainViral/ 

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