Rugby World Cup 2015: All Blacks outside backs prominent in pool play

All Blacks outside back pair Nehe Milner-Skudder and Ben Smith scored well in statistics gathered from four weeks of pool play at the Rugby World Cup. Photo/Getty.

As we bid farewell to 12 teams who failed to advance to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, it's worth crunching the numbers to learn who the leading players were from the past four weeks of pool play.

From a New Zealand point of view, rookie winger Nehe Milner-Skudder and fullback Ben Smith were prominent across several categories, and No8 Kieran Read and second five-eighth Sonny Bill Williams ranked highly in specific areas.

Smith was the only All Black busy enough with the ball in hand to feature in the top 25 players for carries, coming in ninth with 45 efforts to his name.

That number played a hand in him coming fourth in metres gained, with the elusive runner carving out 306 metres, followed by Samoa's Tim Nanai Williams (277m) and Milner-Skudder (271m).

The All Blacks' outside back pair also scored well in the line breaks category, with Smith and Milner-Skudder joining four others in a six-way tie with eight busts, behind England's Anthony Watson with 11.

Milner-Skudder's evasive skills saw him included as the only All Black among the defenders beaten list. The 24-year-old and Fiji's Nemani Madolo both left 16 would-be tacklers in their wake, behind South Africa's Damian de Allende (18) and England's Mike Brown (17).

Offloads predictably saw Sonny Bill Williams feature, with the athletic ball-player filling second place with 20, behind Fiji's Leone Nakarawa's 26. Nanai Williams claimed his second top-five ranking, coming in fifth with 14 offloads.

Some lesser known players from the minnow sides scored highly across various categories, particularly, and perhaps predictably, in defence, with Namibia's Torsten Van Jaarsveld, Japan's Michael Leitch, and Italy's Francesco Minto topping the tackle count with 52 each.

No All Blacks were among the top 25 tacklers but France captain Thierry Dusuatoir underlined his importance to his side by coming eighth with 45.

Japan skipper Leitch also headed the carries count, making an impressive 60 runs, above USA's Samu Manoa (57), South Africa's Schalk Burger (54), and Ireland's Sean O'Brien (49).

The battle of the breakdown was dominated by Wallabies loose-forward David Pocock with 10 turnovers, and Nakarawa followed with nine, ahead of Dusuatoir's eight, while Kieran Read - the only All Black in the top 25 - had seven.

A quick glance at the missed tackles list shows Namibian and Uruguayan players fill the top five, while France No10 Frederic Michalak comes in down the list in 22nd spot, after slipping off eight ball-runners.

Kicking in general play was dominated by some of the lesser sides, looking to relieve opposition pressure applied within their own half, with Fiji's Ben Volavola putting boot to ball 60 times.

That number contrasts heavily with the Wallabies, Ireland and the All Blacks kickers, with Bernard Foley kicking 34 times, and Jonathan Sexton and Dan Carter one behind with 33 each.

Lineout steals have been kept to a minimum, with Wallaby Dean Mumm managing four, and Read taking three, along with England's Geoff Parling and Ireland's Peter Mahoney.