Introduction

The dataset used throughout this report relates to the WXV1 match between France and Canada from the inagrual competition in October of 2023.

Match summary

Canada v France Match Statistics
WXV1 04.11.2023
	France	Canada	Match
Time
BIP	19m 39 s	21m 17 s	40m 57 s
Elapsed Time			104m 35 s
Events
Passes	121	177	298
Passing Rate (1 every)	9 s	7 s	8 s
Rucks	93	104	197
Mauls	5	5	10
Ruck/Maul Rate (1 every)	12 s	11 s	11 s
Kicks	23	28	51
Kicking Rate (1 every)	51 s	45 s	48 s
Set piece
Lineout	11	11	22
Lineout Success	72.73%	72.73%	72.73%
Scrum	9	13	22
Scrum Success	55.56%	84.62%	72.73%
Scoring
Tries Scored	2	4	6
Goal Kicks	4	5	9
Goal Kicking Success	100 %	80 %	88.89%
Discipline
Penalties Conceded	11	9	20
Penalty Rate (1 every)	1m 47 s	2m 21 s	2m 2 s
Cards	0	0	0

The table above gives a broad overview of the match between Canada and France, which Canada won with a scoreline of 37-24. With a high BIP time of 40m 57s and high counts of physical interactions, we can tell that this was a high intensity game. Canada just edge the metrics as they pass, ruck and kick more often when in possession. They also have a lower penalty count and higher scrum success. The table gives an idea of a close game which Canada edged on the day.

The time in seconds of ball in play is shown in buckets of 0-5s, 0-15s and 0s-1min. we can see that the three graphs are heavily skewed right as there are a greater number of short periods of BIP, this may be because of handling errors or kicks out of play.

The above boxplot shows the range of possession times per team. We can see a few outliers, one of which is Frances possession of 119s or just less than two minutes. The overall range of possession duration for france is larger but the interquartile range of Canada is more spread, with a higher median too.

Scoring & Related Variables

Points Accumulation

The graph above shows the points accumulated by each team over the period of the match. There is a turning about halfway through the graph which could be as the second half got underway. The rate of Canadas points accumulation increases, greater than that of Frances in the first half. Canada took out a strong lead and kept it until the final whistle.

Concessions

Both line graphs of penalties conceded v scores conceded shows a positive relationship between the variables. It is simple to understand that conceded penalties leads to the opposition gaining points scoring opportunities whether that materialises as kicking to touch and gaining territory or taking a kick at goal. Frances number of penalties conceded is slightly higher and so too are scores conceded. They gave Canada opportunities and Canada were efficient in taking them.

Rucks

CRL: Canda played right to left, FRL: France played right to left.

This data aligns with scoring and penalty data from earlier where France dominated the first half and Canada the second. The majority of Canada’s attacking rucks in the first half were in their own half of the pitch, with none in the attacking 22m. While France made a number of attacking ruck involvements in the attacking 22m. Canada enjoyed more phases of play in their attacking 22m int he second half and France competed mostly between the two 22m lines of the pitch.

Ruck Speed

Canada v France Match Ruck Speed (s)
	France	Canada	Match
Minimum	3.03	2.82	2.82
Average	5.75	5.17	5.44
Maximum	14.92	16.1	16.1

Ruck Speed is an extremely important metric in Rugby Union. The slower an attacking teams team ruck speed, the longer the defense has to set up. Canada and France have similar average ruck speed, with Canada having a larger range of ruck speed throughout the match. Variations in ruck speed can be cause by a number of factors including opposition ruck entries, defensive jackling quality and attacking team ruck arrival time.

Radar Charts

The above radar charts show us that both Canada and France relied heavily on passing and carrying during their game, with France slimly outperforming the winning team Canada.

Kicking

We can see that there are more kicks to touch and dead kicks in the first half. In the first half Canada kicked from deep often, gaining ground or finding touch. France kicked higher up the pitch, this may have been because they were in control of the game and under less pressure to exit their own 22m. In the second half France kicked significantly less, not finding touch on a single occasion. Canada kicked from slightly higher up the pitch. Canada were under less pressure and kicked longer - an attacking tactic rather than defensive one?