Better Laws - Better Game

The International Rugby Board is pleased with the outcome of their increased emphasis on certain aspects of law application - the tackle and offside at  kicks in particular.

The Board’s Game Analysis Unit has published a statistical review of the 2010 Tri-Nations won by New Zealand.

New Zealand won the Tri-Nations without losing a match, followed by Australia and the 2009 winners South Africa.

The Report provides a detailed statistical analysis of all nine matches played in what was a compelling competition. It highlights the major trends, analyses how the Tri-Nations has evolved over the past decade and how it produced an alternative approach to the Game in 2010.

Tri-Nations 2010 highlights

• Tries were up by almost 100% on the 2009 figure, reaching an average of 5.8 per match - the second highest in the 15-year history of the tournament. The only time it was higher was 13 years ago.

In 2009 there were 27 tries; in 2010 52.

In the Six Nations in 2010, the average number of tries per match was 3,2.

In the 2010 an average of 5,9 penalty goals was scored in the Tri-Nations; in 2009 7,7.

• Margins of victory were as tight as in 2009 with four matches having a winning margin in single figures and eight matches under 20 points. All teams scored more tries in 2010 than in 2009.

• There was a dramatic reduction in the number of kicks out of hand. The 2009 Tri-Nations, in line with previous years, averaged around 60 kicks per Game - the 2010 Tri-Nations averaged just 37.

Unchallenged kicks to opponents, in Six Nations in 2010 was 28. In the Tri-Nations in 2009 it was 23. In the Tri-Nations in 2010 it was 11. In one Test there was just one such kick in the entire game.

• Ball in play time increased by 7% on 2009 levels, but was down on 2008 and 2007.

The number of rucks was up by 40% top a match average of 186.

The average number of passes per match up by 35% to a match average of 300, as against 222 in 2009.

• The scoring ratio was one penalty goal to each try, while in 2009 the ratio was 2.5 penalty goals to each try.

* There were no drop goals in 2010. In fact only South Africa attempted one.

* There were slightly fewer scrums and line-outs in 2010.

Scrums: 14 in 2010, 19 in 2009
line-outs: 22 in 2020, 24 in 2009.

Unfortunately there are no comparative figures for scrum resets and collapses - unfortunately as it was also an area demanding renewed referee attention.