England head coach Stuart Lancaster has been frequently reminded this month that time is running out to nail down a preferred side for the World Cup. The theory that experience…
Russ Petty
Rugby statistics: The best times for England to score against the All Blacks
There was a sense of inevitability as New Zealand clawed back a ten point deficit in Brisbane last month and won against Australia in the Rugby Championship with the final…
Rugby statistics: can trends identify the first European Champions Cup winner?
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss? The Heineken Cup is no more, has ceased to be, is an ex-tournament. Instead we enter the new era of the…
Rugby statistics: Are yellow cards really that bad for you?
There is a common belief that a team receiving a yellow card will be punished by an average of seven points during the following sin-bin, but is that actually true?…
Top 14: Is there a blueprint for success?
Last season’s Top 14 was fiercely contested with just a 16-point gap separating top side Toulon and Brive in ninth place. As a comparison, the difference between first and ninth place was 43…