The stats don't lie: Williams v Whitelock - who won?

Ali Williams was the main man for the Blues winning seven from eight lineouts thrown to him. Photo / Getty Images

Stats guru Tracey Nelson looks at the key contests from the weekend's action including the battle between locks Ali Williams and Sam Whitelock and young flankers Luke Braid and Matt Todd on Saturday.

CRUSADERS v BLUES (23-16)

- The Crusaders edged the Blues out in a pulsating match that went down to the wire, with the Crusaders leading by a mere two points until with just six minutes to play a deft kick by Dan Carter saw Zac Guildford score his second try of the night in almost the same spot as his first to give his side a seven point margin.

- Battle of the lineout was a points decision to the Blues despite two overthrows by Keven Mealamu, with Ali Williams the stand out jumper on the night. Williams was the main man for the Blues winning seven from eight of ball thrown to him, and stealing one off Sam Whitelock. The one throw Williams lost was stolen by Kieran Read.

- Sam Whitelock lost his first throw of the season with the steal by Williams, ending up with one win from two throws. Anthony Boric (four from four) and Brad Thorn (three from three) had steady if unspectacular games in the lineout.

- Williams and Thorn both made five ball carries, but Williams only made 22 metres to Thorn's 38 metres. Sam Whitelock had just two ball carries in the match, but made 27 metres with ball in hand.

- The battle of the breakdown was hotly contested with both sides winning seven turnovers off the opposition. Matt Todd and Kieran Read lead the way for the Crusaders with two steals each, while Luke Braid and Jerome Kaino had one each for the Blues.

- Openside flankers Matt Todd and Luke Braid were heavily involved in the game, with Todd making two clean breakdown steals, thirteen tackles with two missed, and seven ball carries for a total of 30 metres gained with no handling errors. Braid made one breakdown steal, twelve tackles missing just one, had eleven ball carries gaining 59 metres, and made two handling errors.

- While the contest on the ground was hot, the discipline was excellent with both teams conceding just two penalties at the breakdown. Scrum penalties and obstruction were the flavour of the night, with the Crusaders conceding one scrum penalty and two for obstruction while the Blues conceded three scrum penalties and one for obstruction. Both teams also conceded one penalty for off side play.

- The Crusaders made eight linebreaks (three by Zac Guildford and two by Tom Marshall) and managed to bomb three tries. In the first half Tom Marshall was denied due to obstruction, Sam Whitelock's was called back for a forward pass, and in the second Andy Ellis knocked the ball on with the line wide open.

- The Blues made five linebreaks and blew one try, when Luke McAlister knocked the ball on just inches from the try line.

- Despite the dewy grass and near freezing temperatures, the handling by both teams was good given the ferocity of the defence. The Crusaders knocked the ball on five times, while the Blues knocked on seven times.

- Not a great night for the goal kickers, with Dan Carter landing three from six for a 50 per cent return, while Luke McAlister kicked two from five giving him just 40 per cent.


CHIEFS v HURRICANES (18-18)

- Goal kicking could have been the difference in this game had Stephen Donald landed more than just 50 per cent of his kicks on the night. He also fluffed a drop goal attempt in the dying minutes of the game that could have won the match for the Chiefs.

- Aaron Cruden kicked three from four of his goals to take his points tally to 103 for the season. He also made eight tackles missing just one, and two linebreaks in his overall 109 metres gained. Donald made 12 tackles missing just one, and no linebreaks in his 57 metres gained.

- The Chiefs managed to put pressure on the Hurricanes' lineout, causing two throws to be not straight and Jack Lam and Isaac Ross also stealing a throw each. The Chiefs had their own woes when Aled de Malmanche took the field in the second half, with two of his throws going astray. Top jumpers were Ross with four from four, and Victor Vito with five from five.

- The Hurricanes made eight clean linebreaks, with Hosea Gear and Ma'a Nonu both making two each. The Chiefs only made four linebreaks.

- The Chiefs missed 19 tackles in this game but the Hurricanes' handling error tally of 17 prevented them from taking full advantage. By contrast the Hurricanes missed just nine tackles, and the Chiefs made 12 handling errors.

- Relatively few penalties in this game, with 10 awarded. Both teams conceded five, with the breakdown the main area of attention where the Chiefs conceded four and the Hurricanes conceded three.


WARATAHS v HIGHLANDERS (33-7)

- The Highlanders were in this game until the 74th minute, with just 12 points separating the two teams. But Tom Carter's third try of the night put paid to any faint hopes left for the Highlanders' play-off chances.

- With 21 missed tackles it wasn't the Highlanders' finest hour on defence. Nor was it their night on attack with 28 handling errors.

- The only thing that did work well for the Highlanders was their lineout, with Jarred Hoeata winning six from seven of his throws in their tally of thirteen wins from fifteen throws.

- The Highlanders only conceded four penalties in this game, with just two coming at the breakdown.