Rugby World Cup: Change aplenty in stats leaders after high-scoring round

Dylan Coetzee
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Split with Henry Arundell (England), Jac Morgan (Wales) and Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

Split with Henry Arundell (England), Jac Morgan (Wales) and Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

The third weekend of the Rugby World Cup has come and gone with some massive clashes where some of the best in the globe stood up.

Ireland claimed a narrow win over the Springboks in a classic, England continued their winning run, Wales demolished Australia, Scotland and Argentina also got wins, whilst Georgia and Portugal played out a fantastic draw.

Following the thrilling round of action, Planet Rugby takes a closer look at the top performers in the tournament.

Most points

There is yet another change atop the points category, with veteran Irishman Johnny Sexton rising to the top after guiding his side to an impressive 13-8 win over the Springboks, where he added four points to take his tally to 45 points.

Sexton will be looking to add further to his total when he faces Scotland in his next game on October 7.

Runners-up: Frenchman Thomas Ramos was one of the main beneficiaries of his team’s rout against Namibia as he shot up to 41 points alongside England’s George Ford, who added no points to his total after coming off the bench against Chile. Wallaby Ben Donaldson added six points on a day to forget, taking him to 36, whilst Italian Tommaso Allan rounds out the top five with 27 points.

Most tries

It was a dream World Cup debut for young Englishman Henry Arundell, who tied a record for his country by scoring five tries against Chile – the most in a single game at the showpiece for a Red Rose player.

Whilst some of the tries were walk-ins, Arundell showed class with a sumptuous chip and chase on a day he will never forget.

Runners-up: Red-hot Ireland centre Bundee Aki continued his outstanding form but did not add a try as he remained on four, joining him in France wing Damian Penaud, who managed three tries against Namibia. Samoan Sama Malolo climbed the charts on three alongside young Frenchman Louis Beille-Biarrey

Most carries

Whilst Aki did not add to his try-scoring charts, he still ran the ball exceptionally well, tallying up his carries to 53 for the tournament – a whole 20 above the nearest player.

This shows how central the battering ram has been to the Irish cause in France.

Runners-up: One of the positives of the Georgian performance was full-back Davit Niniashvili, who was brilliant; he is second with 33 carries ahead of Italy’s Paolo Garbisi and Ireland’s Hugo Keenan on 31 apiece, just ahead of Australia’s Mark Nawaqanitawase.

Most clean breaks

The lethal Penaud put together one of the better ball-running performances one will see at a global showpiece, adding a ridiculous seven clean breaks in a single match.

The impressive haul sees him leapfrog every other player to lead the category with a total of nine clean breaks.

Runners-up: Not far behind with one less is Aki, whilst the trio of Bielle-Biarrey, All Black Caleb Clarke and Mack Hansen of Ireland all sit on six clean breaks.

Most tackles

Wales skipper Jac Morgan was a massive player for his side as they handed Australia a record defeat in World Cups. The stats show how influential the flank was, making a whopping 17 tackles on the night.

As a result, Morgan leads the tournament with an impressive tally of 44 tackles made so far and is the only one to exceed the 40-tackle mark.

Runners-up: There are three players on 37 tackles in Tongan Sione Talitui, Welshman Gareth Thomas and Chilean Martin Sigren. Meanwhile, Jack Cornelsen rounds out the top five.

READ MORE: Who’s hot and who’s not: Ireland win a classic, Wales stand up and Antoine Dupont’s injury

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