Finals statistically compared

NPC and Currie Cup

There were two big finals in the Southern Hemisphere – the NPC in Auckland and the Currie Cup in Pretoria. We look at some statistical comparisons between the two.

They were very different matches.

The NPC final, between Auckland and Otago, was played in a gentlemanly fashion with lots of running and passing. The Currie Cup final, between the Blue Bulls and the Cheetahs, was played brim full of passion which did not always stay pent up. The one was a game, the other warfare. The one was light entertainment compared with the other's drama – the one dessert, the other defintely a meat course.

The NPC match had a clear-cut winner, the Currie Cup final was desperate till the final whistle.

Just as a matter of interest, there was a white team against a blue team in each match and the whites won on each occasion,. The referees colour-code teams. In Auckland, Auckland were white, Otago blue. In Pretoria, Cheetahs were white, Blue Bulls blue.

The nature of the game plays a part in statistics. The match between the Blue Bulls and the Cheetahs was much closer. The weather plays a part. For both matches the weather was fine. In Auckland it had rained. In Pretoria it was hot. The Auckland match was played at night, the Pretoria match in late afternoon.

Here are some statistical comparisons:

1. Crowd

NPC: 22 000
CC: 50 000

2. Scores:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago, 39 + 11 = 50
CC: Cheetahs vs Blue Bulls, 29 + 25 = 54

3. Tries:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago, 6 + 1 = 7
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs, 1 + 2 = 3

In Auckland, four tries were scored in the last 12 minutes

4. Penalties:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago: 3 + 6 = 9
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs:  12 + 10= 22

5. Reasons for penalties:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago:

Auckland:
Tackle: 2 (Rokocoko, Muliaina)
Off-side: 1 (Afoa)

Otago:
Tackle: 2 (Clare, Levi)
Off-side: 2 (Mapusua, Evans)
Discipline: 2 (Brew – dangerous tackle, Haymans – obstruction)

CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs:

Blue Bulls:
Tackle: 5 (Bakkies Botha, Human, Wannenburg 2, Nel)
Off-side: 1 (Steyn)
Discipline: 6 (Cronjé – punch, Roets – obstruction, Du Preez – dangerous tackle, Habana – dangerous tackle, Van der Bergh – early tackle, Wannenburg – obstruction)

Cheetahs:
Tackle: 3 (Du Plessis, Drotské, De Waal)
Off-side:  2 (Goodes, Claassens)
Discipline: 5 (Du Plessis – punch, Pieterse – collapse, Le Roux – man without ball, Smith obstruction & punch)

6. Free Kicks:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago: 0 + 1 = 1
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs:  10 + 3 = 13

Otago's free kick was at a line-out.

The Blue Bulls made 6 marks, which says something about the Cheetahs' kicking.  There were 4 free kicks for the Blue Bulls at line-outs, which says something about the Cheetahs' arithmetic.

The Cheetahs had 1 free kick at a scrum and 2 at line-outs.

7. Scrums:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago: 6 + 11 = 17 (3 resets)
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs: 4 + 9 = 13 (4 resets)

8. Line-outs:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago: 20 + 14 = 34
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs: 19 + 13 = 32

Auckland lost 5 throws, Otago 1 and 1 was skew.

The Blue Bulls and the Cheetahs each lost two throws.

9. Tackle/Ruck/Maul:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago: 192
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs: 126

10. Kicks:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago: 26 + 25 = 51
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs: 23 + 37 = 60

11. Passes:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago:  150 + 92 = 242
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs: 96 + 48 = 144

The Cheetahs made their first pass after 10 minutes of play. The first time they had a number of passes in succession – five – they gave away an intercept try to the Blue Bulls, but when they scored their first try, it came after a string of 20 passes, starting in their own 22.

12. Sanctionary cards:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago: 0
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs: 2 + 1 = 3

The players sanctioned were Victor Matfield and Bryan Habana of the Blue Bulls and Os du Randt of the Cheetahs. Some others may have been lucky, for example Jacques Cronjé and Bakkies Botha.

13. Drop-outs:

NPC: Auckland vs Otago, 1 + 3 = 4
CC: Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs: 3 + 1 = 4

14. Stoppages:

We have not included wholesome stoppages, like tries, or the whistles to end halves.

NPC: 73
CC: 88