The Opta Rugby Data Debrief: Darge Impresses, Pumas Purr and Champions Toppled

After an action-packed weekend of rugby, it’s time for a quick stat hit to round up the key talking points.

There was plenty of rugby to keep fans entertained over the weekend. The Premiership and United Rugby Championship both kicked off their 2024-25 campaigns, with the TOP 14 already in full flight. On the international scene, the best of the Southern Hemisphere continued to do battle in The Rugby Championship and in Japan the Pacific Nations Cup took centre stage.

We take a look at the data behind some of the key talking points from the weekend.

Darge’s Defensive Shift

Rory Darge made our Team of the Week after his impressive display against Ulster on Saturday night and it is no surprise to see why.

The Scottish back row made a whopping 39 tackles for Glasgow Warriors in Belfast. Not only was that the most of any player in Europe at the weekend, but only one player has ever made more across the United Rugby Championship, Premiership or TOP 14 since Opta have recorded this data (since 2010): former Glasgow Warrior, Jonny Gray.

Similar to Darge, Jonny Gray set his colossal tackle total on Irish soil, making an incredible 43 tackles away to Leinster back in April 2019, doing so without missing a single attempt. Darge himself only missed one, making this not a bad shift at all.

Double Hat-Tricks in Bordeaux

Another player who featured in our Team of the Week was Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who featured as our star player thanks to a hat-trick of tries.

He wasn’t the only Bordeaux player to cross the try line three times though, as Damian Penaud also scored three times over on the opposite wing.

It’s the first time two players from the same team have scored a hat-trick in the same game in the TOP 14 since May 2019. Back then it was Racing 92 – who were on the receiving end at the weekend – recording two triples (vs USAP), thanks to Louis Dupichot and Simon Zebo.

Boks-Office Drama in The Rugby Championship

One of the biggest talking points from the weekend was Argentina’s victory over the Springboks. While it was somewhat unexpected, it’s still unlikely to stop South Africa claiming the championship in Mbombela next weekend.

South Africa raced into a 17-0 lead and looked odds on to maintain their 100% record in The Rugby Championship this year. However, the Pumas came roaring back to lead at the half-time break.

After a seven-try thriller in the first half, the final 40 minutes proved to be a cagier affair. Just nine points were scored in total, Argentina kicking one penalty to South Africa’s two. However, it was the missed attempts from the tee that caused the biggest stir, with Manie Libbok missing a very makeable penalty with just a minute left.

According to Opta’s xGK model, the ‘average’ goal kicker would have made the kick 82% of the time, while Libbok’s own predicted success rate was 78%. However it wasn’t to be as Argentina claimed a famous victory.

For the Boks, they will be more concerned about surrendering a 17-point lead than a solitary kick missing the uprights, while Libbok can sleep a little more comfortably knowing that ‘easier’ kicks have been missed in The Rugby Championship this year alone.

The unwanted accolade of the worst miss belongs to the All Blacks. They missed a 72nd-minute penalty, which had an xGK of 88%, against South Africa in the second of their two meetings this year. Like South Africa, that late penalty attempt came away from home, while just one point down on the scoreboard.

All will be forgotten when the Springboks inevitably seal the championship at the end of the week.

URC = Best League?

The phrase has become somewhat of a meme over the last few years since the South African teams joined the competition. While it can certainly be argued whether or not the URC is indeed the best league, the inclusion of the southern hemisphere heavyweights has undoubtedly added to the quality and the competition has been filled with drama in recent seasons.

The opening round of the 2024-25 campaign was no different, with an average margin of just two points separating the 12 teams. That makes it the tightest round of fixtures in the competition’s history, with the previous best being set back in Round 18 in 2013-14 when the average margin was 2.8 points.

Champions Toppled

Both the Premiership and URC saw their reigning champions defeated in their opening game. Glasgow Warriors were mere seconds away from winning away from home, but Northampton Saints were comprehensively beaten by Bath, the side they edged out in the final back in June.

It’s the third year in a row that the Premiership champions have opened their campaign with a loss, something that had happened just twice in the previous 10 editions.

We’ve already mentioned the increasingly competitive nature of the URC and the opening round of the Premiership showed us that the English top flight is no different, as the Saints came crashing back down to earth.

Fiji Fly Through the Gears

Finally, a word on the Pacific Nations Cup which concluded over the weekend, with Fiji taking the crown.

After going into the break all square it looked like the match would go right to the wire, but the Flying Fijians came to life in the second half, scoring 31 unanswered points in a 20-minute spell between the 56th and 76th minute.

It’s not the first time they’ve gone up a gear in the second half in this year’s Pacific Nations Cup.

In the opening round they trailed 15-16 after 40 minutes against Samoa, before winning 42-16. Against Tonga and the USA they were just seven points in front at half-time before winning by 31 and 19 points respectively.

While the Fijians are known for their attacking flair, it was their defence that set them apart, particularly in the second half of those matches. Up until Japan’s 78th-minute consolation try in the final, Fiji hadn’t conceded a single second half point in the competition.

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