The Aviva Premiership has been absent from our lives for far too long, indeed when the domestic action reconvenes on 16th October it will have been 19 weeks and 6 days since the 2015 Aviva Premiership Final at Twickenham Stadium.
As you all know I love a good stat and with a short time before the competition commences I thought that it would be an appropriate time to take a look back over the 2014/15 season’s numbers. The very good eggs at Opta and SFMS Ltd have complied plenty for us to review so let’s take little trip down memory lane and review some of the figures from last year’s Aviva Premiership Season.
With their Aviva Premiership Final victory Saracens became the first side to ever take the title from 4th position - their handsome 68-17 victory over London Welsh in Round 22 pushed them ahead of the Exeter Chiefs and from there on they flexed their muscles take the title. Of course London Welsh broke a few records last year, but perhaps it is better not to dwell on them for they weren’t of the most flattering variety.
Continuing to focus on individuals, a couple stood out from the crowd in terms of their statistical contribution however none more so than Thomas Waldrom. The raised eyebrows that some made when Rob Baxter announced the signing were totally obliterated with Waldrom's performances. By the end of the season the Exeter Chief had scored 16 tries in 22 appearances - a stunning achievement in itself and then when you dive into the manner in which he did it you have doff your hat even more. After 22 rounds of action Thomas topped the Aviva Premiership carry count with 308, he was second on the metres made list, 1467, only being eclipsed by SInoti Sinoti (1,641) and beat 71 defenders.
Another back rower caught the eye in terms of Opta’s statistics is the man that will become eligible to play for England on 25th June 2016, Nathan Hughes. Nathan was hugely destructive as part of Wasps’ back row with 238 carries, 37 offloads 24 turnovers won, 1099 meters made and 238 carries. In the forwards Tom Youngs toped the chats of lineout throwing success percentages with 92% followed by Mike Haywood of the Northampton Saints with 90% and Graham Kitchener took the most number of own lineouts, 83, and stole the most, 13.
Tom Varndell’s move to Bristol Rugby means that he will remain 5 tries behind Mark Cueto’s benchmark as the Aviva Premiership's All Time Leading Try Scorer and it is well known amongst the squads how much Tom had his eye on that record!! This year Danny Cipriani should break the 900 Aviva Premiership points barrier as he is currently sitting with 879, Nick Evans has 1,388 to his name and every point that Charlie Hodgson secures extends his lead as the Aviva Premiership’s All Time Points Scorer with 2469 and counting.
The 2015/16 Aviva Premiership season will be a truly enthralling and intriguing one. The condensed fixture schedule due to the Rugby World Cup means that there is absolutely no rest for the wicked and it will be the season where squad depth comes to the forefront. Our Aviva Premiership Directors of Rugby and Head Coaches will have to rotate their squads whether they like it or not, and I hope that means will see the emergence of some great new talents. The stage is set for an action packed seven months and it all starts on Friday night when Harlequins host Wasps at the Twickenham Stoop.
