Vodacom Bulls win small margins #FanUp
As the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers open the gap at the top of the South African conference log, statistics show that the margins in Vodacom SupeRugby are smaller than the scoreboard may suggest.
This is clear from the stats taken from the Vodacom Rugby App in the Bulls’ away victory over the Cell C Sharks in Durban over the weekend.
As is usually the case the local derbies are brutal affairs, this weekend the Bulls were made to work hard for their 17-10 win against the coastal team.
Key statistics eventually tipped in the favour of the visitors as the Light Blues enjoyed 58 percent territory and 57 percent of the possession.
Although the Bulls conceded the most penalties in the match with 11 to 8, they did manage to dominate the Turnovers Won stats.
Perennial ball scavenger Deon Stegmann was instrumental in this area for the Bulls as he topped the category making four of his side’s 13 turnovers compared to the six by the home side.
The stats also reflect the Sharks’ brave defensive effort as they made 158 tackles, 18 more than the Bulls.
Sharks captain Marco Wentzel led the effort along with Mouritz Botha and Renaldo Bothma each making 15 tackles in the match.
However, the hosts also slipped too many of their tackles as they missed 22, allowing the Bulls to dominated the crucial Defenders Beaten category.
The Bullls made more Clean Breaks with standout wing Francois Hougaard making two of his side’s five clean breaks with the Sharks only managing one .
Meanwhile, the Stormers demonstrated in their nail-biting 13-6 victory over the Western Force that a team can win despite drawing the short straw in terms of possession and territory.
Despite holding a 59 percent territory advantage and enjoying 56 percent of the possession, the home side still bowed their knee to the South African side.
The Stormers made four more clean breaks than the Force with captain Juan de Jongh and flanker Siya Kolisi boasting two each for the lion’s share.
The rests of the stats reflect how close the encounter was although the home side made 154 Carries compared to the 113.
This tested the Stormers’ defence as they made 146 Tackles to the 114 made by the Force.
Call C Sharks v Vodacom Bulls stats:
Penalties conceded: 8-11
Penalty goals: 1-4
Missed penalty goals: 3-1
Missed Conversions: 0-1
Kicks from Hand: 23-32
Metres Run: 308-468
Clean Breaks: 1-5
Carries: 104-121
Defenders Beaten: 13-22
Passes: 104-133
Offloads: 16-4
Tackles: 158-140
Missed Tackles: 22-13
Knock Ons: 17-17
Turnovers Won: 6-13
Handling Errors: 17-17
Possession%: 43%-57%
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