Premiership stats leaders: ‘Electric’ England hopeful dominates round four stats with ‘barnstorming’ back-rower topping charts for season
Following the conclusion of Round Four of the Premiership season, we take a closer look at the individual stat leaders and top performers from the games so far.
The weekend’s action began in the North West, as Sale thrashed Newcastle Falcons 43-10. The focus quickly pivoted onto the South West, as Bristol Bears mounted a heroic 28-point comeback to claim a 40-35 win over Exeter Chiefs, and Bath also had to come from behind to beat bitter rivals Gloucester 55-31.
Attention then shifted to the East Midlands, as Leicester Tigers thwarted Northampton Saints 24-8 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road. Rounding off the weekend, Harlequins ended their wait for a win over Saracens with a 17-10 victory at the Stoop.
As always, there were some fine individual performances on both sides of the ball; and here is a full run-down of the best performers from the weekend and the Premiership overall.
Attacking stats: Points, tries, metres, carries, defenders beaten
At the top of the points-scoring chart this week was Bath ace Finn Russell, who notched a tidy haul of 18 points in his side’s victory over Gloucester. The British and Irish Lions fly-half was on hand to land a try, five conversions and a penalty at Kingsholm as his side avenged their surprise defeat to Bristol.
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This latest showing from Russell pulls him up to second in the points-scoring table for the season, with 39 points to his name thus far. He sits three points behind leader Josh Hodge, who has 42 points to his name over his four showings.
For tries, Bristol winger Gabriel Ibitoye takes the prize this week following his superb nine-minute hat-trick against the Chiefs on Saturday. He was closely followed by Arron Reid, Beno Obano, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Paul Brown-Bampoe and Tom Roebuck this weekend, with all five notching two tries in their respective outings.
This display of fine finishing now pulls Ibitoye joint-second alongside the aforementioned Roebuck and Feyi-Waboso in the pecking order across the season with four tries apiece. This is one less than Ibitoye’s Bristol teammate Max Malins, who leads the way with five scores this year.
The Bristol back was also in fine form with ball-in-hand too, as the electric Ibitoye also led the charge for metres in round four. The winger made an impressive 147 metres across his 80-minute stint, including two blockbuster solo runs. As a result, he is once again second in the leaderboard on 310 for the campaign, but he’s just edged out by the aforementioned Feyi-Waboso, who sits on 362.
For carries, look no further than England star Ben Earl, who registered a whopping 25 carries in Saracens defeat to Harlequins at the weekend. This monumental effort drags him up to third in the pecking order across the season, but his back-row colleague at the StoneX, Tom Willis, tops this list with 76 to his name. The number eight narrowly missed out on top spot in round four, finishing third on 23.
Finally, another England hopeful makes this selection, as Gloucester ace Ollie Thorley beat the most defenders in round four. The one-cap back beat an impressive 12 defenders in the defeat to Bath, where he also notched a fine try. He now shoots up to fifth across the campaign, but it’s barnstorming Saracens’ forward Willis who finds himself at the top of the pile for defenders beaten, with 27 to his name this season.
Defensive stats: Tackles and turnovers won
The defensive dark arts aren’t always spoken about in a glowing light, but they are just as vital.
Upon his return to action, Gloucester skipper Lewis Ludlow certainly proved a point, as he led the way in round four with a whopping 26 tackles. He still has a long way to go to make the top 10 though, and even further to overtake current tackle leader Tom Gordon, with the Newcastle Falcons man currently sat on 68 tackles after four games.
For turnovers, Sale Sharks’ returning hero Tom Curry and Bath star Miles Reid both finished round four on three apiece. Reid’s efforts take him up to eighth in the leaderboard across the campaign, with four. He will need to double his efforts to overtake current turnover king Jack Kenningham, who has eight to his name so far this season.
Premiership round four top performers
Points: 18 – Finn Russell (Bath)
Tries: 3 – Gabriel Ibitoye (Bristol Bears)
Carries: 25 – Ben Earl (Saracens)
Metres: 147 – Gabriel Ibitoye (Bristol Bears)
Defenders beaten: 12 – Ollie Thorley (Gloucester)
Tackles: 26 – Lewis Ludlow (Gloucester)
Turnovers won: 3 – Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) and Miles Reid (Bath)
Premiership top performers for season
Points: 42 – Josh Hodge (Exeter Chiefs)
Tries: 5 – Max Malins (Bristol Bears)
Carries: 76 – Tom Willis (Saracens)
Metres: 362 – Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
Defenders beaten: 27 – Tom Willis (Saracens)
Tackles: 68 – Tom Gordon (Newcastle Falcons)
Turnovers won: 8 – Jack Kenningham (Harlequins)