A messy weekend for the Bulls and Sharks, but by hook or by crook, players from both sides still managed to dominate a few Vodacom Rugby Stats App categories, with SP Marais the leading light.
Sharks fullback SP Marais, despite contributing to a losing cause against the Cheetahs, topped the Carries and Metres Run categories. Marais covered 160 metres and made 16 carries.
Sharks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach beat 9 defenders on Saturday, to top the Defenders Beaten bracket, with the Reds’ Samu Kerevi behind him on 8.
Victor Matfield again produced a masterclass in the air, stealing 3 of the Stormers’ lineout throws with team-mate, Paul Willemse stealing 2 of his own!
South African players have dominated the lineout Stats throughout the season and did so again the past weekend. The Cheetahs’ Lood de Jager and Stephan Lewies are among the top-five in the Lineouts won on own throw Stats with the 6 they won over the weekend.
Also to feature among the top-five in the Stats are Warwick Tecklenburg of the Lions and the Bulls’ Jono Ross, who made the 4th and 5th most tackles with 15 and 14 respectively.
Tecklenburg won the second most turnovers one less than Deon Fourie, who leads the Turnovers Won category with his 4 turnovers.
Marnitz Boshoff was again the leading points-scorer with the 19 points he contributed in the Lions’ record sixth Super Rugby victory, converting 5 penalties (the most of the weekend) and 2 conversions in his side’s 34-17 victory over the Rebels.
Round-18 Stats:
Metres Run:
1. SP Maras (Sharks) – 160m
2. Bernard Foley (Waratahs) – 120m
3. Coenie van Wyk (Lions) – 118m
4. Tom English (Rebels) – 118m
5. Alofa Alofa (Waratahs) – 115m
Carries:
1. SP Marais (Sharks) – 16
– Luke Jones (Rebels) – 16
3. Coenie van Wyk (Lions) – 14
4. Dane Haylett-Petty (Force) – 14
5. Kurtley Beale (Waratahs) – 14
Defenders Beaten:
1. Cobus Reinach (Sharks) – 9
2. Samu Kerevi (Reds) – 8
3. Aaron Cruden (Chiefs) – 7
4. Ardie Savea (Hurricanes) – 5
5. Nemani Nadolo (Crusaders) – 5
Tackles:
1. Curtis Browning (Reds) – 21
2. Jordan Taufua (Crusaders) – 18
3. Matt Todd (Crusaders) – 15
4. Warwick Tecklenburg (Lions) – 15
5. Jono Ross (Bulls) – 14
Turnovers Won:
1. Deon Fourie (Stormers) – 4
2. Warwick Tecklenburg (Lions) – 3
3. Ardie Savea (Hurricanes) – 2
4. Ben Lucas (Reds) – 2
5. Brodie Retallick (Chiefs) – 2
Linenouts Won on own Throw:
1. Rob Simmons (Reds) – 8
2. Brodie Retallick (Chiefs) – 6
– Jeremy Thrush (Hurricanes) – 6
– Lood de Jager (Cheetahs) – 6
– Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues) – 6
– Stephan Lewies (Sharks) – 6
Lineouts Stolen:
1. Victor Matfield (Bulls) – 3
2. Paul Willemse (Bulls) – 2
3. Stephan Lewies (Sharks) – 2
4. Dominic Bird (Crusaders) – 1
5. Franco van der Merwe (Lions) – 1
6. Francois Uys (Cheetahs) – 1
Points:
1. Marnitz Boshoff (Lions) – 19 points
2. Jayden Hayward (Force) – 15 points
3. Aaron Cruden (Chiefs) – 14 points
4. Bernard Foley (Waratahs) – 14 points
5. Johan Goosen (Cheetahs) – 12 points
Penalty Goals:
1. Marnitz Boshoff (Lions) – 5
2. Aaron Cruden (Chiefs) – 4
3. Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes) – 3
4. Jayden Hayward (Force) – 3
5. Kurt Coleman (Stormers) – 3
A few new features have been added to the Vodacom Rugby Stats App including Player-vs-Player and Team-vs-Team stats, Live Commentary and Field Zone stats. Version 2 is out on Android and coming to IOS, Windows and Blackberry soon.
