The Stats Don't Lie: McCaw leads the way again

Richie McCaw again lead his team in breakdown arrivals (26) and overall tackle count (14 plus five assists). Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

Tracey Nelson crunches the numbers from the second Bledisloe Cup test where Richie McCaw once again led the key statistics.

ALL BLACKS v WALLABIES (27-16)

The All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup for the 11th straight season, and have now won 16 of their last 20 games against Australia (with three losses and a draw) dating back to 2007.

After conceding just six penalties in Sydney last week, the Wallabies were on the receiving end of 16 in Wellington. Six of them came at the tackle, three were scrum offences, two were for obstruction, a further two came at the ruck, and the remainder were spread over off-side play and holding players back.

Of the Wallabies' 16 penalties, five were conceded in their 22. Stephen Moore was the most penalised Wallaby with three, closely followed by Michael Hooper and Scott Fardy with two each.

The All Blacks conceded eight penalties this week, with half coming at the breakdown. Of those eight penalties, four were conceded in their own 22 - Sam Whitelock, Aaron Smith, Ma'a Nonu and Israel Dagg being the offenders.

Despite some rain early in the game, the handling by both teams was excellent with the first knock-on of the match not coming until the 29th minute when James Horwill attempted to steal an All Blacks' lineout. The All Blacks did not make their first knock on until the 51st minute when Richie McCaw mishandled a pass from a Wallabies turnover.

The All Blacks made 116 tackles, 30 tackle assists, and missed just 11. Of those 116 tackles, 47 had to be made in their own 22. The Wallabies made 71 tackles and missed 13.

There was more kicking than last week in Sydney, with the Wallabies kicking from hand 26 times (16 in the first half) and the All Blacks 33 times. Will Genia had three kicks charged down in this test match.

Thanks to all that kicking there were 35 lineouts in this game. The All Blacks won 14 of their 19 throws, while the Wallabies won 11 of their 16 throws.

Sam Whitelock had a pretty good night at the office winning five out of his seven lineout throws and stealing three off the Wallabies. Brodie Retallick won five out of his six throws and stole one Wallabies' throw.

Steven Luatua continues to impress, being in the first three to the breakdown 17 times in this game, making nine tackles, and a total of 55 metres with his five ball carries (including his linebreak).

No surprise that McCaw again lead his team in breakdown arrivals (26) and overall tackle count (14 plus five assists). He also made five ball carries for a gain of 12 metres.

Tom Taylor had a fine debut and topped the primary tackler count for the All Blacks with a total of 15, with just one miss. He also landed five from eight attempts at goal, with one miss bouncing off both uprights.