The below graphic shows the top sixteen most penalised players in this season’s Heineken Cup group stage. The penalties do not discriminate by offence and I have made no allowance for game time.

See something they’ve all got in common?

Yep. Every single one of the top 16 most penalised players in the competition was a prop forward.

Fluke?

Let’s expand it to the top 30 players…

That’s 23 of the top 30 most penalised players in the competition who are front row forwards.

I mentioned game time earlier on. Some players are on the pitch longer than others, so what if we generate the same list but ordered by minutes played per penalty conceded?

By that measure, here’s the top 34:

That’s 28 of the top 34 most penalised players in terms of penalties conceded per minute they’re on the pitch who are front row forwards.  Importantly, note that although the list contains many different players to the first two lists the trend of front row penalty concessions is still strong.

Presented without comment about the state of the scrum in today’s game.

Stats courtesy of the Amlin Opta Index.