No Boks in 'stats-based' XV
SPOTLIGHT: As the hackneyed idiom states: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
This certainly applies to South Africa’s win at the World Cup.
By all accounts – including numerous experts and rival coaches – the Springboks were the best team by a proverbial country mile.
However, of the many post-tournament selections one stats-based ‘selection’ saw fit to not include any Boks in their team.
Yes, you read correctly.
The best team in the world – the World Cup and Rugby Championship champions, who are also ranked No.1 by World Rugby – does not have a single representative in OptaJonny‘s Team of the Tournament.
This is in stark contrast to most publications, who saw fit to include several South Africans in their team.
The famous @rugby365com selection has eight Boks in our starting XV and another five ‘bubbling under’.
World Rugby’s ‘official’ statistics also suggest the Boks were the best.
But then, as we know, the persuasive power of numbers is strong, particularly the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments.
OptaJonny’s Team of the Tournament
XV – Based on our unique scoring system here is @OptaJonny‘s ‘Team of the Tournament’ for #RWC2019, the scores are based on a per 80 mins rate with a minimum of 320 mins required to make the cut (240 mins for props); @beaudenbarrett had the highest score of any player. Selected. pic.twitter.com/gzueGzcRfl
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) November 4, 2019
World Rugby stats
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