New Zealand v South Africa: Tale of the tape
STAT ATTACK: It is the most anticipated match of the year.
Yes, Australia will claim their three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions would measure an equally ‘seismic magnitude’ on the game’s interest scale.
However, on September 6, at the iconic Eden Park in Auckland, the world’s No.1 (New Zealand) and No.2 (South Africa) teams go head to head.
For good measure, they have dominated the game for more than a century and have won seven of the 10 World Cup titles.
When the Rugby Championship resumes next month, after a brief pause, Rounds Three and Four may well decide the outcome of the Southern Hemisphere championship.
With just two points separating the All Blacks in first place on the standings (six points) and Argentina (four points) in last place, the Eden Park face-off will be decisive.
The statistics of the first two rounds do provide some interesting points as the respective strengths and weaknesses of the Kiwis and Boks.
At a glance, the two teams appear even on attack, except that the Boks have made significantly more clean breaks (18 to three) than the All Blacks, and average four metres per carry, compared to the Kiwis’ just under three metres.
Yet, the All Blacks scored nine tries and the Boks just six.
New Zealand’s defence (84 percent tackle completion rate compared to 81) seems slightly superior.
However, they conceded 22 penalties (11 per game) to the 19 of SA.
The Boks conceded more turnovers (33 to 28).
It is in the kicking department where the Boks have a clear advantage.
Their 83 percent conversion kicks accuracy is significantly superior to the 56 percent of their opponents, as is the Boks’ 100 percent penalty kick accuracy when compared to the All Blacks’ 75 percent.
Set pieces are pretty even – the scrums favouring the Boks and the All Blacks’ line-outs slightly better.
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