Weekly Super Rugby Stats: Kings show promise

The Vodacom Bulls overcame a spirited Toyota Cheetahs team 23-18 while the Emirates Lions lost 43-37 in a riveting encounter in Johannesburg.

Fiery Kings flanker CJ Velleman was at the coalface of the battle playing a massive part not only defensively but also on attack.

Velleman terrorised the visiting Japanese franchise on defense and his 20 tackles ensured he lead the statistics taken from the All Out Rugby App in this department.

Team-mate Stefan Willemse also cracked the top five with his 14 tackles while the Cheetahs’ Francois Uys also made the top list with 16.

Velleman further frustrated the tourists at the breakdown where he won four turnovers to finish third behind David Pocock (Brumbies) with six and Paul Schoeman of the Cheetahs with five.

South African players again feature prominently among the attacking stats with Lions centre Lionel Mapoe sharing the top rung of the ladder in the Clean Breaks with three other players with four each.

Bulls fullback Jesse Kriel and the Cheetahs’ Nico Lee among the top five with three apiece.

South African back Riaan Viljoen playing for the Sunwolves shares the top spot in the Defenders Beaten category with Damian McKenzie (Chiefs), Sean McMahon (Rebels) with eight each.

Bulls flyer Travis Ismaiel is in second place with seven while Mapoe and Lions hooker Akker van Merwe, who scored a brace of tries, made the third most with six each.

Mapoe also made it into the top-five rankings in the Metres Run category with 95 while the Chiefs’ James Lowe lead the pack with 128 metres.

Meanwhile, Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies scored the second most points of the weekend contributing 22 to his side’s score with a try, four conversions and three penalty goals.

All Out Rugby stats review – Round 6 

Points:

 1.     Damian McKenzie (Chiefs) – 23

2.     Elton Jantjies (Lions) – 22

3.     Ihaia West (Blues) – 19

4.     Jack Debreczeni (Rebels) – 16

5.     Ryan Crotty (Crusaders) – 15

Clean Breaks:

1.     James Lowe (Chiefs) – 4

        Nemani Nadolo (Crusaders) – 4

        Patrick Osborne (Highlanders) – 4

        Lionel Mapoe (Lions) – 4

2.     Damian McKenzie (Chiefs) – 3

       Jesse Kriel (Bulls) – 3

       Nico Lee (Cheetahs) – 3

Defenders Beaten:

1.     Damian McKenzie (Chiefs) – 8

        Sean McMahon (Rebels) – 8

        Riaan Viljoen (Sunwolves) – 8

2.     Malakai Fekitoa (Highlanders) – 7

        Travis Ismaiel (Bulls) – 7

        Ryan Crotty (Crusaders) – 7

3.     Dominic Shipperley (Rebels) – 6

        Lionel Mapoe (Lions) – 6

       Akker van der Merwe (Lions) – 6

      Johnny McNicholl (Crusaders) – 6

Metres Run:

1.     James Lowe (Chiefs) – 128 metres

2.     Johnny McNicholl (Crusaders) – 116

3.     Matt Faddes (Highlanders) – 97

4.     Patrick Osborne (Highlanders) – 96

5.     Lionel Mapoe (Lions) – 95

Turnovers Won:

1.     David Pocock (Brumbies) – 6

2.     Paul Schoeman (Cheetahs) – 5

3.     CJ Velleman (Kings) – 4

4.     Angus Cottrell (Force) – 3

         Rene Ranger (Blues) – 3

Tackles:

1.     CJ Velleman (Kings) – 20

2.     Luke Jones (Rebels) – 17

         Matt Todd (Crusaders) – 17

3.     Michael Hooper (Waratahs) – 16

        Francois Uys (Cheetahs) – 16

4.     Liam Squire (Highlanders) – 15

         Kieran Read (Crusaders) – 15

5.     Stefan Willemse (Kings) – 14