Kwagga Smith: The turnover King
STAT ATTACK: Double World Cup winner Albertus ‘Kwagga’ Smith is officially the turnover king of 2023.
The 30-year-old has had a long journey to get where he is now after starting as a full-time Sevens player with the BlitzBoks back in 2013.
Ten years later, the flank has become the blueprint and prime example of how a player can make the seamless transition from Sevens to the XV-man game.
Smith has reached incredible heights in his career, and in 2023 he took it to a whole new level.
According to Opta Stats, Smith totalled an overall 40 turnovers in all major club and international competitions – making him the best at winning that ball back for his team at the breakdown.
He also tops the charts for the most jackals with 27.
Opta Stats also stated that he tops the charts for both those categories on a per 80-minute basis (2.8 TW, 1.9 J).
The stats are certainly no surprise as the 30-year-old has been the standout performer for his Japanese club Blue Revs.
He claimed the League One Player of the Season in May, beating the likes of Springboks Malcolm Marx and Pieter-Steph Du Toit.
A few months later he topped that accolade by helping the Springboks to back-to-back World Cup titles.
40 – @SmithKwagga has won both the most turnovers overall (40) & the most jackals (27) of any men’s player in 2023 across all major club & international comps; he also tops the charts for both those categories on a per 80 mins basis (2.8 TW, 1.9 J). Specialist.#AskOptaJonny https://t.co/z0DFGmKG2q pic.twitter.com/RlpnczVjMG
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) December 20, 2023
Meanwhile, Opta Stats revealed that RG Snyman “with 70 percent had the highest gainline success of any lock across the 2019 and 2023 editions of the World Cup. (70 percent, min.25 carries).
The Leinster-bound lock “also ranked first for line breaks (four) and second for defenders beaten (10, Scott Barrett – 11) among locks over that period.”
70% – RG Snyman had the highest gainline success % of any lock across the 2019 and 2023 editions of the @rugbyworldcup (70%, min.25 carries) and also ranked 1st for line breaks (4) and 2nd for defenders beaten (10, Scott Barrett – 11) among second-rows over that period. Viking. pic.twitter.com/gpv34nBeQ3
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) December 19, 2023
Stats provided by: Opta
