As the domestic season takes its final pause for the denouement of the European competitions it is the perfect time to review the Aviva Premiership table in full glory and pull out a few points of interest from the wealth of data.
If we cast our eyes first towards tries scored and conceded there are a few numbers that jump out of the page at you from all areas of the table. Wasps lead the way in terms of tries scored, they have 72 to their name and it is fair to say that the calibre of those tries has been high and Joe Simpson’s sensational solo effort on Sunday reinforces that notion. London Welsh are at the opposite end of the spectrum, they have scored just 27 in total during the course of the twenty rounds of action and overall their statistics to date turn heads for all of the wrong reasons, I won’t dwell on them for the numbers speak for themselves. The ‘shock factor’ in terms of tries scored comes from the Leicester Tigers as they have amassed just 5 more than London Welsh with 32. Now obviously anyone that has been watching the Tigers this season knows that their attacking flair has been lost in the midst of their back line injuries and numerous centre partnerships however the fact that they remain in fourth position and with a chance of making the playoffs for the eleventh year in a row highlights the positive of ‘winning ugly’.
Defensively Bath Rugby lead the way having let in the least points of any Aviva Premiership side, 358 and indeed only Saracens have let in fewer tries, 35, than Mike Ford’s men. Bath have secured three try scoring bonus points in their past three matches and lead the way alongside Wasps with the most amassed so far with 8. If you switch the bonus point focus to losing bonus points then Rob Baxter’s Exeter Chiefs come out on top, they have gained 7 losing bonus points over the course of the twenty rounds, as have Dean Richards’ Newcastle Falcons.
It isn’t surprising to see that once again draws have been few and far between in this year’s Aviva Premiership season, just three have graced us with their presence. There was the memorable Round 17 clash at Kingsholm between Gloucester and the Northampton Saints that ended 33-33, Wasps and Newcastle’s dogged 23-23 fight under the Friday Night Lights at Kingston Park and finally in the dismal November weather a far from classic 21-21 draw at Welford Road between the Leicester Tigers and Saracens courtesy of Owen Williams’ final minute penalty.
An honourable mention must be made for the Newcastle Falcons in terms of the improvement in their overall performance levels this season. The step change is reflected greatly in the statistics, however the frustration for Richards and the side is that it isn’t then duly reflected in their position in the table. The Falcons have scored 49 tries during the course of the opening twenty rounds, they have three try scoring bonus points to their name and 7 losing bonus points. Last season they scored just 23 tries in total and the majority of those were after Christmas, indeed it took them until Round 4 of the domestic season to score a try whereas this year Richard Mayhew opened their account at Welford Road in Round 1.
Now as we head into the final two rounds of the group stages almost everything remains up in the air, even with my dislike of arithmetic I understand that six does not fit into the three playoff places remaining. For the top six sides the majority of run ins are savage to say the least, the Tigers face two Midlands derbies in a row, the Exeter Chiefs take on Saracens and the Sale Sharks, Bath Rugby head to London to face Quins and then host their bitter rivals Gloucester at home on the last day of the season and only Saints and Saracens have the luxury of facing London Welsh. The fact of the matter is that this run in will be the most competitive, intense and enthralling ever. Already the table shows that it has been a stunning season and you sense that the best is yet to come!
