We’ve seen the big lads in the second row taking some serious flack following the Ireland game so I thought I would have a little look at our options and where they stack up against the big lads available to the other home nations.
There are four locks in the squad and it’s important to note that they all finished the season pretty positively in terms of club form. Grant Gilchrist and Ben Toolis had been part of a pack in the capital that generally fared well in the Pro14.
Jonny Gray had gone through a slump in form but bounced back from being dropped with some superb aggressive performances whilst still tackling everything that moved. Scott Cummings went from an outside bet with unfulfilled potential (his breakthrough season at Glasgow was brilliant but he had gone quiet) to making the Scotland squad as probably the form player in Glasgow’s pack during the run-in.
Let’s lock down some stats then.
For comparison purposes here I’ve gone for our 4 and the 2 starters from each of the other nations in their first pool match, and the stats are based on their international performances this season.
Size
Gilchrist – 202cm 118kg
Gray – 198cm 121kg
Toolis – 201cm 118kg
Cummings – 198cm 116kg
Maro Itoje – 196cm 111kg
Courtney Lawes – 201cm 115kg
James Ryan – 201cm 112kg
Iain Henderson – 198cm 117kg
Alun Wyn Jones – 198cm 118kg
Jake Ball – 197cm 121kg
You can find some variation in these measurements depending on where you look, but pretty clearly they’re all big and our lads don’t come out of it unfavourably.
Average metres gained per carry
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Itoje – 5.4 (27 carries)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Cummings – 3.5 (6 carries)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Ball – 3.3 (37 carries)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gilchrist – 2.8 (21 carries)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Lawes – 2.8 (42 carries)
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Ryan – 2.5 (60 carries)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Jones – 2.5 (32 carries)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Toolis – 2.4 (16 carries)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gray – 2.1 (18 carries)
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Henderson – 2 (32 carries)
There is obviously some variation in minutes played especially as we’ve included all of ours, but it’s clear straight away that although our locks aren’t struggling to make the typically small gains in hard yards they’re doing it much less often than most of their rivals. James Ryan has played a similar amount of rugby to any one of Gray, Gilchrist or Toolis and yet carried the ball more times than the three combined… yikes.
Clean Breaks
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Itoje – 3
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Ball – 2
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Cummings – 2
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gilchrist – 1
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Henderson – 1
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Jones – 1
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Toolis – 1
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gray – 0
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Lawes – 0
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Ryan – 0
Much of a muchness in terms of the numbers but it is notable that Cummings has made as many breaks as other 3 combined in a much smaller sample of minutes.
Defenders Beaten
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Ryan – 8
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Lawes – 6
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Jones – 6
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Itoje – 5
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Ball – 5
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Henderson – 4
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gilchrist – 2
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Toolis – 2
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gray – 1
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Cummings – 1
On the face of it, our lads don’t break many tackles or get out of a one-on-one, occupying the last four places. Even Cummings, which is perhaps surprising.
Tackle completion
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gray – 98% (123 attempts)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Ball – 98% (47 attempts)
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Ryan – 97% (101 attempts)
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Henderson – 97% (62 attempts)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Toolis – 94% (65 attempts)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Lawes – 93% (112 attempts)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Jones – 92% (149 attempts)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gilchrist – 92% (102 attempts)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Itoje – 89% (109 attempts)
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Cummings – 87% (12 attempts)
Johnny’s time to shine and he doesn’t let us down.
Turnovers won
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Itoje – 6
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Lawes – 4
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Henderson – 3
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Jones – 2
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Ryan – 2
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Ball – 2
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gray – 1
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gilchrist – 0
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Toolis – 0
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Cummings – 0
This doesn’t look good for our boys. Perhaps our game plan isn’t about the locks getting over the ball but there is a clear gap in successful jackals.
Penalties conceded
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Jones – 8
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gilchrist – 6
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Itoje – 6
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Gray – 4
[svg-flags flag=”gb-eng”] Lawes – 4
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Toolis – 3
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Henderson – 2
[svg-flags flag=”gb-wls”] Ball – 2
[svg-flags flag=”ie”] Ryan – 1
[svg-flags flag=”gb-sct”] Cummings – 0
Interesting to see that the Irish are so squeaky clean in this, the table where no one wants to be top.
Of course this isn’t a perfect analysis – I knocked it up in an hour on the train for goodness sake – but hopefully it can generate a little debate on the relative merits of our engine room, over to you guys.
It perhaps does indicate that some of the criticism about the lack of heavy carriers to punch holes is merited, but also that in some areas they more than hold their own.
Stats used based on Rugbypass