European Rugby’s Most Penalised Players in 2012/13

Last season the top 16 most-penalised players in the Heineken Cup were all props. Was it a fluke?

A New Season

A new season is here.

The rugbystats machine is fuelled and ready to fly.

 

 

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Warren Gatland hasn’t picked a back as Lions captain. It’s not a surprise.

Warren Gatland has never picked a forward as his test captain. Don't believe me?

2nd Test Lions Nuggets

Some snippets of Lions stats and trivia for the Irish Examiner.

Gatland’s Risky Youngs Pick

Ben Youngs has been picked as an attacking threat but is it too much of a defensive gamble?

Who are you, and what have you done with Tom Croft?

Dan Lydiate replaces Tom Croft with Sean O'Brien promoted to the bench. Tom Croft's still in the squad, covering lock as well as blind side, but on tour he's not the same player as that from the 2012/13 season.

Lady Luck, the Lions and Mel Gibson

Australia and the Lions have both had their share of good and bad luck since Saturday morning.

Adam Jones is Jonesian.

Before the first Lions test Adam Jones had carried once, for one yard on this tour. That and other snippets in a first test preview for Balls.ie.

The Curious Case of Dan Lydiate on the Subs Bench

And how Leigh Halfpenny could make the big difference for the Lions if his kicking hot streak continues.

Mark Cuban, Big Data and Rugby. Intriguing.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will be one of the judges for the AIG Rugby Innovation Challenge which sees app developers get access to Opta's detailed match data. Interesting stuff.