Now firmly in the rearview mirror, the 2024 July International Two Test Series between eight of the game’s top nations produced some scintillating rugby to close out one season and begin another.
As Ireland, France, England and Wales all recoup from their respective series, Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand all get set to go again in the upcoming Rugby Championship.
Looking back on the four series, there several notable performances based exclusively on the eye test but which of these performances translated to the stats sheet to prove who objectively were the top players in July?
Below are the key stat areas provided by Opta Statistics, with some notable performances that may well catch several fans off guard.
Tackle Leaders
Starting at the sport’s coal face, as the saying goes, defence wins titles, and as such, it was unsurprising to see a two-time World Champion topping the most crucial of defensive stats. Leading the charge across the eight nations was Springbok star Pieter-Steph Du Toit, who also goes by the nickname the Malmesbury Missile! Ripping into Irish players with unrelenting ferocity, PSDT picked up where he left off in the World Cup final as the Boks’ key tackler with a whopping 46 completed tackles across the two tests. Behind budding French star Lenni Nouchi broke up a Welsh monopoly in the top five, coming in second with 38 against Argentina, whilst Welsh forwards Archie Griffin, Dafydd Jenkin, and Dewi Lake did the hard yards against an uptempo Wallabies attack.
Pieter-Steph du Toit | South Africa | 46
Archie Griffin | Wales | 39
Lenni Nouchi | France | 38
Dafydd Jenkins | Wales | 36
Dewi Lake | Wales | 35
Turnover Leaders
Whilst PSDT was cutting them down, the quintet turned them over, with Irish captain Caelan Doris leading the way with four turnovers in his team’s brutal series against the Springboks. Behind him, Maro Itoje was back to his rampaging best whilst three French players, including the aforementioned Nouchi, each pilfered Los Pumas’ ball three times as they pulled off a rather stunning victory in the first test before succumbing to their more experienced opponents in the second test.
Caelan Doris | Ireland | 4
Maro Itoje | England | 3
Mickael Guillard | France | 3
Lenni Nouchi | France | 3
Baptiste Serin | France | 3
Own Line-Out Takes
In Rugby’s elegant combination of brute force and outlandish skill, the line-out is a key battleground amongst teams of all levels. In this area, one team reigned supreme in July as Argentinean duo Pablo Matera and Matias Alemanno ruled the skies with twenty five takes between them. Behind this pair, Itoje caused all sorts of issues for the All Blacks as Steve Borthwick’s side pushed Scott Robertson’s men all the way in both tests. Completing the list, Welsh Rugby’s latest great lock prospect Dafydd Jenkins was impervious as he set up his team’s dominant maul down under whilst Eben Etzebeth was a safety net for the Bok hookers.
Pablo Matera | Argentina | 13
Matias Alemanno | Argentina | 12
Maro Itoje | England | 11
Dafydd Jenkins | Wales | 11
Eben Etzebeth | South Africa | 9
Line-Out Steals
On the opposition throw, Itoje continued his stat-busting run as he stole three All Blacks line-outs. Whilst Wallaby beanpole Charlie Cale used his rangy frame to great effect against Wales with two steals, and Ireland’s James Ryan made his presence felt with a pair of pinches against the Springboks. Behind this trio, the Bok’s starting lock pairing of Etzebeth and Franco Mostert each claimed a steal.
Maro Itoje | England | 3
Charlie Cale | Australia | 2
James Ryan | Ireland | 2
Eben Etzebeth | South Africa | 1
Franco Mostert | South Africa | 1
Carries
From set piece and defence to trying to accumulate meters and points, England’s Ben Earl was July’s kingpin carrier with a whopping forty-four rumbles at the All Blacks line. Behind Earl, the stat sheet got a little closer as Welsh captain Dewi Lake was his side’s go-to man as they dominated the Wallabies at maul time as the hooker scored a brace of tries. At the base of the Bok scrum, Kwagga Smith ran into a wall of green with zero consideration for what was coming, whilst Los Pumas number eight Joaquin Oviedo did the same thing against France. Breaking the monotony of forwards dominating the list, All Blacks winger Mark Telea was the difference for his side as he took on England’s impressive back three with twenty-nine carries of his own.
Ben Earl | England | 44
Dewi Lake | Wales | 35
Kwagga Smith | South Africa | 34
Joaquin Oviedo | Argentina | 33
Mark Tele’a | New Zealand | 29
Meters Carried
Interestingly, despite getting on the ball a whole bunch, none of the top carriers featured inside the top five of the meters carried list. In this department, Wallabies flyer Filipo Daugunu was the home run winner, gaining 190 meters. Joining Daugunu on the list were three other back three players: France’s Leo Barre, Aregntina’s Bautista Delguy and Ireland’s James Lowe. Ahead of these three, however, was the ultra-impressive Santiago Carreras, who shifted between flyhalf and fullback as he shredded the French defence.
Filipo Daugunu | Australia | 190
Santiago Carreras | Argentina | 167
Leo Barre | France | 151
Bautista Delguy | Argentina | 137
James Lowe | Ireland | 135
Line Breaks
Carrying the ball is one thing; breaking through the players facing you is another. Getting their team through proverbial brick wall where a handful of silky smooth backline players. Returning to the top of the stat sheet, Tele’a proved to be a slippery customer for England as he broke the line five times. Joining Tele’a, Springbok centre Jesse Kriel had his best offensive series for quite some time against Ireland as he burst through the line impressively. Behind this pair, Welsh Veteran Liam Williams got through the line four times, whilst England’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Ireland’s Calvin Nash each had three line breaks.
Mark Tele’a | New Zealand | 5
Jesse Kriel | South Africa | 5
Liam Williams | Wales | 4
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso | England | 3
Calvin Nash | Ireland | 3
Defenders Beaten
Given the above information, it is unsurprising that Tele’a tops the defenders beaten charts with an out-of-this-world pair of performances to get past fifteen English would-be tacklers. Outside of Tele’a, no other ball carriers hit double digits in this department, but Kwagga Smith and Damian McKenzie each came awfully close with nine each. Behind them, James Lowe and Damian De Allende each got past eight defenders as they both impressed with their physicality in the backline.
Mark Tele’a | New Zealand | 15
Kwagga Smith | South Africa | 9
Damian McKenzie | New Zealand | 9
James Lowe | Ireland | 8
Damian de Allende | South Africa | 8
Tries Scored
Getting across the whitewash to finish off the hard work of their teams, Daugunu and Lake each finished with three tries, albeit from very different sources down under. Adding further hype to the already fever pitch levels of excitment around his potential, England’s Fey-Waboso scored two tries against the All Blacks whilst two scrumhalf veterans overcame father time as Conor Murray and Baptiste Serin each scored a brace.
Filipo Daugunu | Australia | 3
Dewi Lake | Wales | 3
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso | England | 2
Conor Murray | Ireland | 2
Baptiste Serin | France | 2
Sign In