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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Simon Thomas

The stark evidence that reveals just where it went so badly wrong for Wales in the Six Nations

As the dust begins to settle on Wales’ disappointing Six Nations campaign, you start to get a clearer idea of just where things went wrong via the final tournament stats.

They confirm certain suspicions and reveal other issues, while also providing an insight into individual performances.

The try tally gives an immediate indication of the shortcomings of Wayne Pivac’s team in attack, with the whitewash only being crossed eight times in five matches, a dramatic decline from the 20 during last year’s title triumph. But delve deeper and you start to see where the troubles really lie on that front.

Wales made the second-most carries in the tournament, but are well down the chart on metres made and bottom but one when it comes to defenders beaten, with breaking tackles and crossing the gain-line proving a persistent problem.

The breakdown was another area of concern and the figures are telling there too, with their tally of turnovers won being the second lowest. It’s such an important part of the game these days and it’s no coincidence Grand Slam-winning France are well out in front on that metric.

Issues at the breakdown also contributed to Wales conceding the second-most penalties, while only Italy missed more tackles. So both indiscipline and defence are departments that need plenty of work, while they won the fewest lineout of any team.

The more you look at it, the more you can identify the fundamental flaws that undermined their campaign.

You can read more about the contract situation of the under-pressure Pivac here. You can also read our explainer on the deep-rooted problems facing Welsh rugby here.

From a tournament perspective, it’s intriguing that France made the least metres, yet won every game. Where they were well out in front was in terms of metres kicked, providing a clear insight into their tactical approach.

Just like South Africa did in winning the World Cup, Les Bleus adopted a hugely effective kicking strategy, earning themselves a territorial foothold which they backed up with a Shaun Edwards-inspired defence, with their tackle completion rate and turnover tally being the best of the bunch. Sometimes it really is better not to have the ball!

On the individual front, there is plenty to unpick from the stats. Second row Adam Beard was the only Welsh player to be on the field for every minute of every match and he also topped their charts in terms of lineouts won and tackles made.

Fellow second row Will Rowlands posted some impressive figures, reflecting what a fine campaign he had. He was top of the tree for turnovers and lineout steals, while second for both carries and tackles. It was some all-round effort from the 30-year-old who would have been even better had he not been harshly benched for the final game against Italy.

READ MORE: It's hard for Wayne Pivac to come back from this, but he shouldn't be the scapegoat

Elsewhere, the stats reveal mixed fortunes for some players. Full-back Liam Williams made the most carries and the most metres, but also conceded the most turnovers. It’s a similar story for winger Josh Adams who broke the most tackles, but gave away the most penalties, while both of them picked up yellow cards.

One player who deserves a special mention looking at the stats is hooker Dewi Lake. He was only on the field for 156 minutes, but put in 28 carries for 132 metres, made 28 tackles and won three turnovers. He has been a real find and has a big future ahead of him.

Finally, what about the tournament’s best performers overall? Well, Gregory Alldritt’s inclusion on a three-man shortlist for Player of the Six Nations is backed up by his stats, with the French No. 8 topping the charts for both carries and turnovers, while also figuring high up on offloads.

But what is also notable is the Italians who are leading the way in various categories. The outstanding Monty Ioane beat the most defenders - 21 of them - and produced the most offloads, while coming second only to Stuart Hogg for metres made.

No. 8 Toa Halafihi is joint top for turnovers, lock Federico Ruzza has leapt to the top of the lineout ladder and inspirational skipper Michele Lamaro put in the most tackles. Not for the first time in the past week you have to say Forza Italia!

TEAM STATS

Tries

24 - Ireland

17 - France

10 - Scotland

8 - England

8 - Wales

5 - Italy

Carries

694 - Ireland

617 - Wales

581 - Scotland

558 - England

496 - France

468 - Italy

Metres Made

4569 - Ireland

4219 - Scotland

3921 - England

3784 - Wales

3022 - Italy

2956 - France

Metres Kicked

5424 - France

4543 - Italy

4350 - Wales

4202 - Scotland

3737 - England

3457 - Ireland

Successful Tackles

827 - Italy

766 - Wales

666 - Scotland

633 - France

595 - England

559 - Ireland

Tackles Missed

130 - Italy

98 - Wales

90 - England

83 - Scotland

69 - France

66 - Ireland

Defenders Beaten (Tackles Broken)

128 - Scotland

98 - Ireland

87 - France

78 - Italy

74 - Wales

71 - England

Turnovers Won

33 - France

26 - Scotland

25 - Italy

25 - England

22 - Wales

19 - Ireland

Turnovers Conceded

81 - Ireland

58 - Scotland

55 - France

53 - Italy

51 - Wales

49 - England

Handling Errors

82 - Ireland

71 - Scotland

69 - France

62 - Wales

44 - England

41 - Italy

Penalties Conceded

61 - Scotland

56 - Wales

51 - England

50 - Ireland

47 - France

46 - Italy

Lineouts Won

70 - Ireland

67 - Scotland

62 - France

58 - England

57 - Italy

56 - Wales

WALES PLAYER STATS

Minutes Played

400 - Adam Beard

389 - Dan Biggar

329 - Will Rowlands

322 - Owen Watkin

305 - Josh Adams

290 - Liam Williams

261 - Nick Tompkins

255 - Louis Rees-Zammit

240 - Taulupe Faletau

240 - Alex Cuthbert

239 - Ryan Elias

217 - Tomas Francis

215 - Taine Basham

215 - Tomos Williams

208 - Wyn Jones

206 - Ross Moriarty

Carries

47 - Liam Williams

42 - Will Rowlands

36 - Taulupe Faletau

35 - Alex Cuthbert

34 - Owen Watkin

30 - Ryan Elias

30 - Taine Basham

28 - Dewi Lake

27 - Josh Adams

26 - Gareth Thomas

25 - Nick Tompkins

25 - Ross Moriarty

Metres Made

383 - Liam Williams

319 - Alex Cuthbert

261 - Josh Adams

230 - Owen Watkin

222 - Louis Rees-Zammit

217 - Will Rowlands

213 - Taulupe Faletau

169 - Taine Basham

152 - Ryan Elias

Tackles Made

52 - Adam Beard

49 - Will Rowlands

46 - Taine Basham

46 - Ryan Elias

44 - Dan Biggar

39 - Nick Tompkins

39 - Taulupe Faletau

36 - Wyn Jones

35 - Ross Moriarty

34 - Tomas Francis

35 - Owen Watkin

Missed Tackles

9 - Taine Basham

9 - Nick Tompkins

7 - Tomas Francis

7 - Louis Rees-Zammit

7 - Dan Biggar

6 - Josh Adams

5 - Dillon Lewis

5 - Ross Moriarty

5 - Owen Watkin

4 - Johnny McNicholl

Defenders Beaten (Tackles Broken)

14 - Josh Adams

10 - Louis Rees-Zammit

10 - Alex Cuthbert

9 - Owen Watkin

5 - Tomos Williams

3 - Nick Tompkins

3 - Liam Williams

3 - Johnny McNicholl

Lineouts Won

Wales' Adam Beard wins a lineout (PA)

17 - Adam Beard

14 - Ross Moriarty

10 - Will Rowlands

8 - Seb Davies

3 - Aaron Wainwright

2 - Alun Wyn Jones

Penalties Conceded

7 - Josh Adams

5 - Taine Basham

5 - Adam Beard

4 - Wyn Jones

4 - Ross Moriarty

4 - Alex Cuthbert

4 - Will Rowlands

3 - Dillon Lewis

Turnovers Won

4 - Will Rowlands

3 - Josh Navidi

3 - Dewi Lake

2 - Dillon Lewis

Turnovers Conceded

6 - Liam Williams

5 - Dewi Lake

4 - Josh Adams

4 - Ross Moriarty

3 - Alex Cuthbert

Handling Errors

10 - Dan Biggar

6 - Tomos Williams

4 - Kieran Hardy

4 - Liam Williams

4 - Louis Rees-Zammit

4 - Josh Adams

4 - Johnny McNicholl

TOURNAMENT'S TOP PERFORMERS

Total points

71 - Marcus Smith (England)

54 - Melvyn Jaminet (France)

35 - Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

34 - Dan Biggar (Wales)

33 - Finn Russell (Scotland)

Tries

3 - Gabin Villiere (France)

3 - Damian Penaud (France)

3 - James Lowe (Ireland)

Try Assists

4 - Romain Ntamack (France)

4 - Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)

3 - Finn Russell (Scotland)

Penalty Goals

17 - Marcus Smith (England)

12 - Melvyn Jaminet (France)

7 - Finn Russell (Scotland)

7 - Dan Biggar (Wales)

Passes Made

390 - Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)

287 - Ali Price (Scotland)

235 - Antoine Dupont (France)

206 - Tomos Williams (Wales)

Carries

65 - Gregory Alldritt (France)

56 - Stuart Hogg (Scotland)

55 - Garry Ringrose (Ireland)

51 - Monty Ioane (Italy)

47 - Liam Williams (Wales)

47 - Hugo Keenan (Ireland)

46 - Freddie Steward (England)

45 - Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)

Metres Made

653 - Stuart Hogg (Scotland)

498 - Monty Ioane (Italy)

491 - Freddie Steward (England)

439 - James Lowe (Ireland)

408 - Marcus Smith (England)

392 - Darcy Graham (Scotland)

389 - Garry Ringrose (Ireland)

388 - Hugo Keenan (Ireland)

382 - Liam Williams (Wales)

Successful Tackles

86 - Michele Lamaro (Italy)

70 - Hamish Watson (Scotland)

64 - Anthony Jelonch (France)

62 - Niccolo Cannone (Italy)

58 - Josh van der Flier (Ireland)

58 - Francois Cros (France)

Turnovers Won

6 - Gregory Alldritt (France)

6 - Toa Halafihi (Italy)

6 - Alex Dombrandt (England)

6 - Maro Itoje (England)

5 - Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)

5 - Rory Darge (Scotland)

5 - Danilo Fischetti (Italy)

5 - Jonathan Danty (France)

Offloads

9 - Monty Ioane (Italy)

8 - Cyril Baille (France)

8 - Antoine Dupont (France)

7 - Mack Hansen (Ireland)

7 - Gregory Alldritt (France)

6 - Stuart Hogg (Scotland)

Lineouts Won

28 - Federico Ruzza (Italy)

24 - Cameron Woki (France)

23 - Maro Itoje (England)

22 - Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)

17 - Adam Beard (Wales)

*You can get the latest Welsh rugby news and headlines in the wake of the Six Nations sent straight to your inbox by signing up for our free newsletter.

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