The Running of the Bools........

Well they ran them at Pamplona.....and in the sister city of Pretoria they apparently have running Bools as well. The Bools kicked only 19 times out of hand last weekend.....the Sharks 33 times, Stormers 42 times and Cheetahs 38 times.

And the Bools gained 424 metres to the Sharks 281 metres.....the Cheetahs 201 and the Mighty Stormers only 195, although the conditions may have contributed.

In terms of defenders beaten the Bools also lead 22 to 14, 13 and only 8 for the Cheetahs.

All of this suggests if you want to play running rugby Morne is your man.

Oh and checking the Lions stats they are almost identical with those of the Bools. Nasty, negative realists might say nobody tackled in that game and the Rebs aren't the Sharks on defence. But I myself wouldn't say that....so if you want to play running rugby....it's either Morne or Earl er Elton Jantjies.

Aha Moz but if you want to play winning rugby?

He has obviously lost his kicking boots and found a pair of running shoes :)

Jokes aside, that is pretty positive stuff

Well its positive stuff as long as that involves the bools being thrashed by the sharks!

Be awhile before the Bulls can beat sharks at a running game, even I'm not blind to that.

Moz something I hope you can shed led on-  What is classified as metres gained? 

If you play Henri-Honnibal Style and allways take the ball flat on the advantage line or if you play Naas Botha and ly flat in the pocket?

Does it still count as metres gained if you do not cross the advantage line? Is it metres gained over the advantage line, or metres gained from where the flyhalf is standing?

If it is metres gained from where the flyhalf is standing, then I can understand why Morne gains metres because the opposition is miles away. 

Why creates these stats of metres gained? Is it a computer- how is it done?

Does metres gained get subtracted from metres lost? If so Morne would end up with a negative figure I would think?

Sharkbok these stats are published by ESPN.....you can explore them yourself at :http://www.espnscrum.com/super-rugby-2012/rugby/series/144545.html?template=results.

Two points....firstly, the numbers come up straight after the game, so there is probably some software involved. Secondly no good definitions are provided.....but if you add up individual metres, you get team metres. To me this suggest metres are with ball in hand. Which would mean game line considerations are not involved.

Ah yeah lets keep Morne as our Bok 10, that great attacking flyhalf - did he actually play against the Sharks?

The running Bulls do not convince me at all.    They got so far behind pointwise early in the game - after the first half they were 20-3 down - and their standard kicking game evidently would not have helped (that is aimless kicking too far away to be effective)  that they started passing the ball around, but the players were not used to that game and  the effect was they managed to score only seven further points against the 12 of the Sharks.  

Too many mistakes made in the process - like a two meter forward pass by Steyn to Basson - and I believe in only one stat and that is the scoreline at the end of the game.    Stats are  marvelous things for  academics - not in rugby where only the stats relating  to log points are what counts.

 Thanks Moz- I will check ESPN

However I would say that unless metres gained is taken from the point of over the advantage line it is meaningless.

A flyhalf that stands very deep like Morne Steyn is actually losing metres before he even gains the ball. 

Henry Honnibal allmost only ever took a pass flat on the advantage line so any run he did over the advantage line and in fact metres gained. 

I feel that a flyhalf that stands deep in a static position is losing metres and these should be subtracted from the distance from the Scrum half pass- the advantage line.