Stats are like bikinis

“Statistics are like a bikini, they show a lot but not the whole thing,” commented interim Scotland coach Scott Johnson earlier this month and how right he is. Ireland claimed 74% of possession and 71% of territory in their clash with Scotland.

Scotland made history against Ireland at Murrayfield last week and may in all probability reward interim coach Scott Johnson a full-time appointment. Scotland has back-to-back wins in the Six Nations for the first time since 2001. They have two victories to their name for the first time since 2006 and boast more wins than they have accrued in the last three Six Nations combined.

They need to meet Wales and France in their remaining fixtures and whether they can carry that momentum forward will face an acid test.

A recap of last week’s six nations game, witnessed Manu Tuilagi’s blood-stained shirt which hinted at the brutal and extremely physical nature of England’s victory over France. A normal player would have probably heeded the medical advice he was given but Tuilagi dismissed the need for stitches and demanded that they just ‘tape up’ his injury. They did just that with Tuilagi immediately returning to the fray where he played a pivotal role in England’s victory.

Thereafter it is believed that he received 20 stitches to fix his damaged ear/face.

Meanwhile, England has made it three wins in-a-row with yet another sterling performance against France at Twickenham. They once again showcased their physical prowess, abundant talent and ability to match the punches in overcoming a resurgent French side.

France entered this year’s Six Nations as title favourites but following their third straight defeat – that means they have lost five and drawn one of their last six Championship games – they find themselves bottom of the table and on course for what would be their first wooden spoon since 1957.    

The Australian Rugby Union has confirmed that the Wallabies will go into camp three weeks before their eagerly-awaited series against the British and Irish Lions this year.

Coach Robbie Deans has previously stressed the need for a dedicated window to prepare his players but their Super Rugby employers had hoped their players would be available for their own clashes with the elite tourists in the build-up to the Test series that kicks off in Brisbane on 22 June.

Under the current playing conditions in the Super Rugby season, the Television Match Official (TMO) has wide ranging powers. Thus, in last week’s game TMO  Vinny Munro got it right when Blues wing Frank Halai was sin-binned for tipping the ball over the dead-ball line against the Hurricanes. If it is an act of foul play, or a professional foul, it attracts an automatic yellow card.

The law further elaborates that you need to take the player out of the equation in making the decision about awarding a penalty try. Thus if one was to take Halai out completely then Hurricanes wing Julian Savea would in all probably have touched down. However, both players were running back at full tilt and they both attempted to control the ball with one hand.

As such the question to be asked is ‘if Savea had played at the ball and knocked it forward’, as happens in the field of play which generally results in yellow cards, would he have been sin-binned in the same incident? It could be argued that Frank Halai was deliberately pushing the ball dead.

It is widely believed that it was the contact that caused that to happen.

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