Always a Wasp
General Category => Wasps Rugby Discussion => Topic started by: RogerE on December 22, 2020, 09:38:52 AM
-
Well you can guess from this Telegraph article
Who is the best ball-carrying forward in European rugby?
Rugby nerd: Telegraph Sport digs into data from the Premiership, Pro14, Top14, Challenge Cup and Champions Cup to find the answer
By Jake Goodwill 21 December 2020 • 3:23pm
Getting over the gainline is as fundamental as ever to the game of rugby. Front foot ball is absolutely the key to breaking down defences that otherwise become organised and ready to sprint off the line.
Having individuals that can break tackles, and find metres where none should be found, is invaluable. Alfie Barbeary has brought a new dimension to Wasps with his abrasive ball carrying while Jake Polledri has been putting defenders on their backsides for fun over the last couple of seasons.
But who are the best forwards in Europe, statistically, at getting over the gainline? Some of the usual suspects make the list, alongside some players that you would not necessarily associate with ball carrying.
The stats used to assess this are from the Premiership, Pro14, Top14, European Challenge Cup and Heineken Champions Cup since the start of the 2018/19 season. All 1,026 forwards who have played 400+ minutes in that time have been ranked.
By average metres per carry
Peceli Yato, the dynamic Clermont back rower, tops this chart with only Barbeary within touching distance. This metric rewards power per carry, as opposed to the frequency of the work. Nevertheless, it is impressive for a player as young as Barbeary to be towards the top of the tree.
Guy Thompson, formerly of Wasps and Leicester, now at Ealing Trailfinders, was a leading light for Tigers during a relatively dark period. A fine player who packs a punch, as the stats show.
The other thing to note here is the effectiveness of Cameron Woki, the French flanker that was given a run at the end of the Autumn Nations Cup. Despite playing more minutes than anyone else on the list, Woki's ability to get over the gainline endures across a 40 game sample size. Impressive from the 22-year-old.
By carries over the gainline per 80 minutes
Barbeary takes the number one spot by this metric, illustrating he carries with frequency alongside with devastating power. He averages one and a half carries over the gainline more than the next best forward.
Georgian powerhouse Otari Giorgadze, who was extremely impressive in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and Ulster's Marcell Coetzee are next in line - alongside Perpignan lock Michael Faleafa.
Worth noting is the work of young lock Ryan Baird, tipped to be the next big thing in Irish rugby, while Zach Mercer, who has been criticised for not being big and powerful enough to cut international rugby, comes out well.
By metres gained per 80 minutes
In terms of pure meterage, Barbeary and Yato dominate once more, with Nathan Hughes and Viliame Mata also near the top. Mercer, Giorgadze and exciting French youngster Jordan Joseph all feature.
This metric is perhaps less useful than the previous two, as the data can be skewed by one carry that makes a lot of ground.
By percentage of carries over the gainline
This last metric essentially shows who gets knocked back in the tackle with the least frequency when tackled. Interestingly, by this metric, a lot of the star names fall off the list - apart from Barbeary, of course. Henry (Brandon) Brown of the Southern Kings wins this category, with Italian veteran Alessandro Zanni a surprise second place.
Ronan Kelleher, the dynamic Leinster and Ireland hooker, makes the list, successfully getting the consistent gainline success that all front rowers desire.
Verdict
To summarise, the statistics produced by Barbeary are scarily impressive. He ranks top for metres gained per 80 minutes and carries over the gainline per 80 minutes, also ranking second for average gain per carry and fifth for gainline success rate. All this should be, of course, with the caveat that Barbeary's sample size is relatively small. For that reason, it would be wrong to proclaim the 20-year-old the best ball carrying forward in Europe. However, these statistics underlie what a special talent he is and the fact he may well be on the way to earning that accolade.
A word too for Yato, who is the only other player that can rival Barbeary by these metrics. The Fijian has the ability to decimate professional defences, as borne out by the statistics.
-
Sorry - tables didn't carry over in previous poat
Most metres per carry since 2018/19 across Europe (Opta)
Team Player Minutes Games Average Gain (metres per carry)
Clermont Auvergne Peceli Yato 2079 37 5.8
Wasps Alfie Barbeary 483 10 5.6
Leicester Guy Thompson 1663 29 5.0
Leicester Sam Lewis 429 13 4.7
Kings Andisa Ntsila 810 16 4.5
Bordeaux Begles Marco Tauleigne 1425 31 4.5
Zebre Renato Giammarioli 1990 31 4.5
Northampton Shaun Adendorff 495 10 4.4
Worcester Matti Williams 446 10 4.3
Bordeaux Begles Cameron Woki 2344 40 4.3
Highest average number of carries over the gainline across Europe since 2018/19 (Opta)
Team Player Minutes Games Carries over the gainline per 80
Wasps Alfie Barbeary 483 10 9.6
Brive Otari Giorgadze 718 16 7.9
Ulster Marcell Coetzee 3258 48 7.9
Perpignan Mike Faleafa 851 17 7.9
Leinster Ryan Baird 718 16 7.8
Newcastle Falcons Nemani Nagusa 679 12 7.7
Munster Gavin Coombes 910 23 7.6
Leinster James Ryan 1985 28 7.5
Bath Zach Mercer 2855 40 7.4
Leinster Jack Conan 1570 21 7.3
Highest average metres gained per match since 2018/19 across Europe (Opta)
Team Player Minutes Games Metres gained per 80
Wasps Alfie Barbeary 483 10 82.0
Clermont Auvergne Peceli Yato 2079 37 69.7
Bristol Nathan Hughes 3009 47 54.6
Edinburgh Viliame Mata 2734 41 53.8
Zebre Renato Giammarioli 1990 31 53.4
Kings Thembelani Bholi 554 10 51.0
Bath Zach Mercer 2855 40 48.0
Lyon Deon Fourie 1175 21 47.3
Brive Otari Giorgadze 718 16 47.2
Racing 92 Jordan Joseph 936 22 46.8
Highest percentage of carries over the gainline across Europe since 2018/19 (Opta)
Team Player Minutes Games Gainline %
Kings Henry Brown 428 8 76.0%
Benetton Alessandro Zanni 717 14 72.7%
Kings CJ Velleman 604 10 71.1%
Lyon Vivien Devisme 460 14 70.6%
Wasps Alfie Barbeary 483 10 68.2%
Leinster Ronan Kelleher 932 18 67.6%
Montpellier Youri Delhommel 590 21 66.7%
Bayonne Jean Monribot 1928 37 66.4%
Castres Wayan De Benedittis 632 21 65.6%
Bordeaux Begles Lekso Kaulashvili 1204 33 65.4%
-
You do kind of wish this sort of coverage would stop for this young guy. Great as these plaudits are he is still young learning his trade at a new level (and doing fantastically).
I do wonder how much the EAs would offer him!
-
Not much, but also ownership of a couple of hotels?
-
+ 1 to both the above.
-
I like the way on my phone in the main forum page the topic title reads:
"And the best ball carrying forward in Europe is...started by Roger E"
Sounds like you have jumped in at 9 to get Alfie moving Roger!
-
The only time I ever played for Wasps at no 9, one of the front row grabbed me by the throat and told me "put the F***ing ball in on the right f***ing side", so don't think Alfie would have been in too good a position if I had been playing.
-
The only time I ever played for Wasps at no 9, one of the front row grabbed me by the throat and told me "put the F***ing ball in on the right f***ing side", so don't think Alfie would have been in too good a position if I had been playing.
I believe actually Alfie puts the ball in, hooks it, controls it at the base then moves it away all by himself so you might not be needed!
-
I also beleivea he gets himself yellow carded so he can put the kettle on for the teams post match brew
-
You do kind of wish this sort of coverage would stop for this young guy. Great as these plaudits are he is still young learning his trade at a new level (and doing fantastically).
Agreed. Whilst player support has improved, I remember the plaudits that another young player had back in 2005. Matt Tait was a fab player, but ended up being picked for England aged 18 and being rather bashed around vs Wales. He'd only played about one and bit seasons of Prem rugby and unlike a winger (say) , a centre is rather exposed in terms of defence and organisation - and in the end the pressures and injuries (probably not unconnected to being played too much too early) meant he ended up a rather unfulfilled player.
I hope that Alfie just gets to enjoy a couple of seasons of play, not too much play, before anyone starts getting ahead of themselves.
In an opinion post, I'd expect that he has every chance to have a long and successful career, including international level. In what position is still up for grabs - he looks like a backrower more than a hooker to me - just from the way he plays and what he offers to a team without the additional pressures (physical and mental) of top level front row play.
I really like his contributions to the team leadership on the pitch and the confidence he extrudes in play. But lets remember he's still a very young man and will only get better - if we allow.
-
Agree totally.