Stats and facts: URC final

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Get all the important numbers that matter when it comes to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final between the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls in Cape Town on Saturday.

Powered by the Vodacom URC’s official stat providers Oval Rugby and supported by historic information from Stuart Farmer Media Services (SFMS), the Vodacom URC StatMaster applies context to the data available for each match in the upcoming round.

The Vodacom URC StatMaster isn’t just about ranking the top-scorers or tacklers, it pinpoints the metrics that provide real insight into the matchups taking place and what factors can prove influential in the winning and losing.

Performance data fields for teams and players are used and combined with reports and analysis on penalties, 22-entry data and times of scoring to provide a one-page insight report on each fixture.

The goal of the Vodacom URC StatMaster Insight Pack is to help demystify the game and make it easier to explain through simplified data.

Stormers

  • The Stormers have been a potent attacking force this season and their offensive play is very rarely thwarted by their own indiscipline. John Dobson’s side have conceded fewer penalties in attack than any other team in the URC this season (52)
  • Clean breaks is also an area where the Stormers have set the pace this term, boasting a league-best tally of 155, although the individual charts are topped by a pair of Bulls players – Madosh Tambwe and Kurt-Lee Arendse (both on 23)
  • N0 8 Evan Roos has had a season to remember, enjoying success in the Vodacom URC Awards and earning a call-up to the Springbok squad. He leads the way for successful carries (142) and defenders beaten (53) in the URC

Bulls

  • The Bulls know how to keep an attacking move going, having completed more offloads than any other team in the competition (231), although the Stormers are just six behind on 225
  • Only Leinster (89) have scored more tries in the URC than the Bulls (73) this season. The Stormers are fourth on the list with 66
  • The Bulls boast the top-two try-scoring forwards in the competition, with back rower Marcell Coetzee sitting on 11 and hooker Johan Grobbelaar on 9

Did You Know?

  • The Stormers have won their last 10 matches since losing 19-17 to Connacht in Galway on 26 February. The Bulls, meanwhile, have lost only one of their past 11 URC fixtures – by the same scoreline to the Stormers in Cape Town on 9 April
  • That fixture forms part of a five-match unbeaten run in matches against SA opposition for the Stormers, whose only home defeat this season was a 37-19 reverse against the Emirates Lions in December
  • Stormers wing Leolin Zas collected the Top Try-Scorer prize during the Vodacom URC Awards, but Marcell Coetzee pulled level with him on 11 by touching down in the final-four victory over Leinster

Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

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Dylan Jack