With the 2nd round of the Men's Rugby Europe Championship settled, Georgia, Romania, Spain and Portugal have confirmed their qualification for the next Men's Rugby World Cup. But can the data from this round unveil us from each clash? Find out more in the following paragraphs!
Dominant tackles: 16
Romania managed to put a stop to Belgium’s hopes of reaching the Men’s Rugby World Cup, and it all started with a powerful defensive performance. The Stejarii finished the clash with twelve dominant tackles, the most of any team from this year’s Men’s Rugby Europe Championship.
In several key moments, the visitors put up a bone-shattering defensive effort forcing Belgian carriers to go back and rethink their strategy. Tevita Manumua, Adrian Motoc, Cosmin Manole, Cristi Boboc, and Taylor Gontineac were just some of the players who helped deliver those dominant tackles, giving a massive confidence boost.
But if you are having doubts about the power of a good dominant tackle, please play the match video from the 33rd minute and see how a double tackle would lead Romania to their first try.
By the end of the game, head coach David Gérard was a happy man. Even with the 14 points conceded, the Stejarii drew down a deep line that Belgium was unable to overcome.
Turnovers: 12
Switzerland’s first home game as a Men’s Rugby Europe Championship nation was met with a full Stade Municipal at Yverdon-les-Bains, who was able to cheer the first-ever try scored by the Edelweiss. However, that wasn’t the only big Swiss moment of the game, as the home side was able to snatch eight balls at the turnover, making the opposition task just a little bit harder.
Switzerland showed unprecedented growth from their first game in the competition, upping their defensive performance to a new standard, which fostered a series of issues for the visiting Leones.
Although the home side conceded seven tries in the end, it was great seeing how the likes of Tim Vogtli, Lazlo Pschorn, Louis Pharaony and Louis Chavanon managed to poach the egg from Spanish control and sow a bit of chaos in what ended to be a very competitive match.
Carry distance: 625
Portugal convincingly defeated Germany, putting another stellar attacking performance with eight tries, gifting fans a colourful afternoon that ended with a Men’s Rugby World Cup qualifying. But how well did the Lobos fair against the Schwarze Adlers? Well, if we take a closer look at the carry distance stat, Portugal produced a dominant attacking performance, galloping metres and metres to create eight tries.
With Hugo Camacho and Joris Moura weaving a dynamic weave of plays, the Lobos kept breaking through the German defence, opening gaps all over the place. João Granate or Luka Begic’s astonishing line breaks paved the way for some of the best tries of the round, injecting pure adrenaline into the Lobos setup.
If against Belgium the Lobos were cut off from holding the oval ball, versus Germany it was a change of tune, with them making sure that their attack would click and deliver another big win.
Defenders beaten: 50
If Romania had wowed fans in the first round, what about Georgia and their exciting attack in round 2? The Lelos concluded the match against the Netherlands with 50 defenders beaten, a season max with Davit Niniashvili being the prime stepper.
The magical fullback was able to elude nineteen defenders, sidestepping over and over again to create some of the match’s most spectacular plays. In Vasil Lobzhanidze's five-pointer, Niniashvili took two Oranje out with a deadly combination of slalom and sidestepping, before offloading the ball to his fullback.
But it wasn’t only the Lyon OU personnel doing well, as Akaki Tabutsadze and Beka Saghinadzewith 10 and 8 defenders beaten respectively, helped their team build a comfortable score to deliver another victory for the home crowd.
If ten years ago the Lelos were mostly recognized for their dominance in the set-piece and the physical power of their pack, nowadays the backline is seen as an absolute threat to any top-level team in the world.
By Francisco Isaac
