OptaJonny have put out their team of the pool stages after collecting all the data.
The Top Pool Stage Performers According To The Stats
The 2019 Rugby World Cup pool stages are done and dusted now with eight teams moving on to the knockout stages. There were plenty of shocks and big results throughout the 40 matches (three were cancelled due to Super Typhoon Hagibis), and there were some fine performances too.
Like they had done during the 2019 Six Nations, OptaJonny once again put together a composite team made up of the best performing individuals thought the pool stages. In terms of what criteria and methods Opta use we are not certain, but the team they put together is below.
15. Telusa Veainu (Tonga)
14. Kotaro Matsushima (Japan)
13. Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
12. Samu Kerevi (Australia)
11. Semi Radrada (Fiji)
400 – @fijirugby's Semi Radradra made the most carries (62) and metres (400) of any player in the pool stage of #RWC2019, also beating the most defenders (29) of any player in the tournament so far. Flyer. pic.twitter.com/9Xv73frxje
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) October 14, 2019
10. Finn Russell (Scotland)
9. Gareth Davies (Wales)
1. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (Argentina)
2. Julian Montoya (Argentina)
3. WP Nel (Scotland)
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4. Guido Petti Pagadizaval (Argentina)
5. Jonny Gray (Scotland)
6. Braam Steyn (Italy)
7. Jake Polledri (Italy)
8. Kazuki Himeno (Japan)
Considering they had their match cancelled it comes as no surprise there are no All Blacks in the team not are there any Springboks. What isn’t surprising is the presence of three Argentina forwards, two Italian back-rowers in Steyn and Polledri who were both excellent throughout, and two of Japan’s best players in Kazuki Himeno and Kotaro Matsushima. As the stats above suggest, Semi Radrada’s inclusion was inevitable too.
Considering they lost two matches the presence of three Scots is interesting, Gareth Davies has arguably been the best scrum-half in the tournament so far, and then you have Kerevi, Ringrose and Veainu rounding out the team.
What do you make of the team? Which players inclusion surprised you the most?
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