Our rugby experts at OptaJonny give us a quick stat-hit on the last seven days in the rugby world.
The last week of rugby saw the conclusion of this year’s WXV – the second edition of the tournament. Once again it was the Red Roses who took the title in the top division, ahead of a resurgent Ireland who sealed a second-place finish.
Domestically, there were tries galore across the TOP 14, Premiership and URC, while Wigan Warriors and Hull KR clashed in the Super League Grand Final.
England Unstoppable, Ireland Improving
The Red Roses secured a second WXV 1 title with victory over Canada, continuing their domination of the international scene since the World Cup in 2022. They have now won 50 of their last 51 matches, including each of their last 20 in a row, with their only loss in that run coming in the World Cup final, game in which they were reduced to 14 players.
It is the fifth time that a side has won 20 or more consecutive matches in women’s international rugby, with England (three times) and New Zealand (twice) responsible for each of those runs.
Ireland also had an excellent tournament, finishing behind England after wins against New Zealand and the USA. Their second-place finish represents a continuation of their upward trajectory in 2024, which saw them finish third in the Six Nations. It’s a real contrast to 2023 where they competed in the bottom tier of WXV, playing against Kazakhstan, Colombia and Spain, after taking home the wooden spoon in the Six Nations.
Ireland’s campaign was a real team effort but their back row really shone, in particular Erin King and Aoife Wafer – the try-scoring heroes in the win against the Black Ferns. Wafer also beat 25 defenders across the tournament, more than any other forward, while no one won more turnovers than her (five).
Hasty Hat-tricks
Saturday saw two of the fastest hat-tricks on record. In the afternoon, Bristol’s Gabriel Ibitoye stole the show with three late tries to help the Bears win away at Exeter Chiefs, with just eight minutes and 14 seconds separating his first and last try.
Sometimes, wingers can grab the headlines by simply dotting down over the try line after all the hard work has been done by other members of the team, but this was certainly not the case for Ibitoye, who had plenty of running to do to get across for his hat-trick.
His second try in particular required an impressive finish, as he gained 68 metres, including a sensational sidestep, to help Bristol get their noses in front after having previously trailed by 20 points.
Only two try-scoring carries in the Premiership this season have been longer than Ibitoye’s 68m. Both of those were breakaway tries after intercepts, unlike Ibitoye’s which came after a sustained passage of play by Bristol.
Later that day, Antoine Dupont returned to TOP 14 action for the first time since his Olympics heroics and eased his way back into the 15-a-side game with a hat-trick off the bench. He couldn’t quite match Ibitoye’s earlier effort though, with the France star taking nine minutes and one second between the first and third scores.
It’s the first time since Opta began analysing the TOP 14 (2010) that a replacement has registered a hat-trick of tries and it’s the first time it’s happened in any of the big three European leagues since Nick Tompkins crossed three times as a replacement for Saracens in a Premiership semi-final against Gloucester in 2019.
Elsewhere, Damian Penaud registered the first hat-trick of try assists in the TOP 14 this season. In fact, he went on to record four assists in total in Bordeaux-Begles’ win against USAP.
Penaud became the first player to assist 3+ tries in a match in the French top flight since Dupont against Stade Rochelais in last season’s semi-final, while he was the first to record four try assists since, well, Dupont against Brive in 2023.
Warriors Go Back-to-Back
In Rugby League, Wigan Warriors defended their Super League title with a 9-2 victory against Hull KR. It was their seventh title overall, closing the gap on St Helens (9) and Leeds Rhinos (8), who are the only teams with more Grand Final victories since play-offs were introduced in 1998.
Their miserly defence was on show once again in the showpiece event, conceding just two points against the Robins, the same tally they’d conceded one year earlier against Catalans Dragons. None of the previous 25 finalists had ever conceded as few points in a Grand Final.
Arguably, the writing was on the wall for Hull KR once Wigan got off to a good start, such has been the ruthlessness of Matt Peet’s side in the Super League. They scored the opening try of the game in 19 matches this season and went on to win all 19. No other side had a 100% record when crossing for the opening score.
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