The match is 80-minutes long but the ball is not in play all of those 80 minutes. There are stoppages, and in fact the ball is rarely in play for even half the time.
The average time that the ball is in play in Super Rugby, taken by Jan Taljaard since 2000, is 33 minutes 30 seconds – 16 minutes 4 seconds in the first half and 17 minutes 26 seconds in the second half.
‘Ball in play’ does not mean that the ball is being passed around. It may be kicked, as it mostly was when the Crusaders played the Stormers or it may be lying there while the scrumhalf fiddles.
The ball was in play for 40 minutes or more in the following match: Brumbies vs Sharks. That is all. It was in play for the shortest time in the following matches: Rebels vs Blues, Stormers vs Blues and Reds vs force.
The ball was longer in play in the Six Nations. It was in play for more than 40 minutes in the following matches:
Scotland vs England, Wales vs Scotland, England vs Wales and Scotland vs France. It was never in play for less than 30 minutes.
Super Rugby ball-in-play times in 2012 (referees in brackets)
Week 8
- Blues vs Sharks (Walsh): 16 minutes 27 seconds + 17 minutes 42 seconds = 34 minutes 9 seconds
- Western Force vs Waratahs (Jackson): 15 minutes 33 seconds + 18 minutes 28 seconds = 34 minutes 1 second
- Crusaders vs Stormers (Pollock): 16 minutes 23 seconds + 21 minutes 42 seconds = 38 minutes 5 seconds
- Brumbies vs Rebels (Joubert): 15 minutes 40 seconds + 17 minutes 54 seconds = 33 minutes 34 seconds
- Cheetahs vs Chiefs (Kaplan): 12 minutes 21 seconds + 18 minutes 51 seconds = 31 minutes 12 seconds
- Lions vs Bulls (Williamson): 15 minutes 50 seconds + 16 minutes 33 seconds = 32 minutes 23 seconds
Week 7
- Rebels vs Blues (Bryce Lawrence): 12 minutes 52 seconds + 14 minutes 20 seconds = 27 minutes 12 seconds
- Hurricanes vs Sharks (Jackson): 15 minutes seconds + 7420 minutes 04 seconds = 35 minutes 47 seconds
- Reds vs Brumbies (Walsh): 20 minutes 28 seconds + 16 minutes 31 seconds = 36 minutes 59 seconds
- Western Force vs Chiefs (White): 16 minutes 54 seconds + 19 minutes 55 seconds = 36 minutes 49 seconds
- Highlanders vs Stormers (Pollock): 17 minutes 21 seconds + 20 minutes 8 seconds = 37 minutes 29 seconds
- Cheetahs vs Lions (Mark Lawrence): 17 minutes 49 seconds + 19 minutes 32 seconds = 37 minutes 21 seconds
- Bulls vs Crusaders (Peyper): 17 minutes 42 seconds + 18 minutes 29 seconds = 36 minutes 11 seconds
The rest of the article can be read on the Official Website of SA Referees
A previous article handled Scrums
Recently we looked at scrummaging and its improvement in 2012 Super Rugby, seeking, as it does, to have the ball in and out 70% of the time without an intervening stoppage.
In 2011 the percentage of scrum success was 45%. After Week 7 that was up to 59,5% this year, still a way to go.
Up to the end of Week 7, the statistics were as follows:
Scrums: 662
Resets: 112
Penalties: 110
Free kicks: 46
Resets%: 16,9%
Penalties%: 16,6%
Free kicks%: 6,9%
Week 8
Blues vs Sharks: 16 scrums – 5 resets, 6 collapses, 1 penalties
Force vs Waratahs: 13 scrums – 8 resets, 16 collapses, 4 penalties, 1 free kick
Brumbies vs Rebels: 14 scrums – 1 resets, 1 collapses, 4 penalties, 3 free kicks
Crusaders vs Stormers: 11 scrums – 4 resets, 3 collapses
Cheetahs vs Chiefs: 15 scrums – 0 resets, 1 collapses, 1 penalties, 1 free kick
Lions vs Bulls: 16 scrums – 2 resets, 3 collapses, 2 penalties, 2 free kicks
Scrums: 85
Resets: 20 – 23%
Penalties: 12 – 14%
Free kicks: 7 – 8%
That men as that ‘successful’ (in-out) scrums were down to 54%.
Resets are up, but then the stats are much skewed by one match – Force vs Waratahs. The first scrum in that match, a Force put-in, took 2 minutes 2 seconds. That is monstrous. The Force put the ball into 9 scrums. Only one did not collapse. In all scrums collapsed 12 times on the Force put-in. The Force were the ones penalised in the match – four times, including a yellow card.
The log for penalties at scrums looks like this, with the Bulls the worst offenders:
17 Bulls
10 Reds, Highlanders, Rebels
9 Cheetahs, Crusaders
8 Hurricanes, Sharks, Chiefs
7 Blues, Force
6 Stormers, Brumbies
4 Lions, Waratahs
Bob Dwyers views, here is a few…
“I continue to believe that neither Higginbotham nor Horwill contribute enough in the tight stuff, especially in attack. Maybe Ewen McKenzie’s decisions to sub both of them also indicate his concerns. Genia’s passing is not good enough — he lifts the ball, winds up with a backswing and takes a skip step before releasing, far too often. This has very little to do with what’s happening in front of him; it’s simply poor technique”
“The Brumbies gave some answers to the questions of – I’m sure – all of us, and they stood up and had a go. Technique under pressure was sound and execution of the fundamentals – catch and pass, straight running, realignment, ball in front, numbers and leg drive at the tackle, speed off the line in defence – was good. Well done, coaching staff. They had real courage and determination – the qualities of winners!”
“The Waratahs continue to flatter to deceive. They looked fantastic at the start, with speed and numbers to the tackle, good body position and leg drive, no delay in the recycle. McKibbin was looking very good; Carter continued his (surprising) good lines, etc; then it all slowed down horribly. At the 21st minute, I wrote myself a note (for the Tahs), ‘Keep up the pace of the game’. I should have shouted the message, because they didn’t heed my note. ’13 points in 13 minutes, that’s obviously enough, let’s switch off!”
“Crusaders played fantastically well against the previously in-form Hurricanes. They have added a new level of intensity and physicality to their play and have certainly thrown down the gauntlet to all other teams, but I saw something entirely new in this game. I saw a try awarded, to the Crusaders, after three successive, blatantly obvious forward passes! Could this be one for the Guinness Book of Records?”
Cheers back to work…
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