1
How eye-watering Ntamack stats compare with Jalibert's numbers
By Liam Heagney
France fans hoping for a home Rugby World Cup victory in the coming months would have been devastated by the confirmation on Monday that influential out-half Romain Ntamack will miss the entire tournament.
The Toulouse No10, who memorably guided his club to a last-gasp Top 14 title in June with an incredible try at Stade de France, lined out for his country in last Saturday’s Summer Nations Series win over Scotland in Saint-Etienne.
However, the 24-year-old son of former French start Emile had his dream of starring at the World Cup ended by Saturday’s ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
The damage was confirmed on Monday, leaving a major void to fill in the French attack ahead of the finals which begin with the September 8 pool clash versus the All Blacks in Paris.
Ntamack has been an integral part of the French resurgence in recent times under Fabien Galthie.
He was first capped by Jacques Brunel at the start of the 2019 Six Nations, going on to feature at that year’s World Cup in Japan, but it has been under Galthie that he accelerated his international career and became a Six Nations Grand Slam winner in 2022.
Last weekend’s match was Ntamack's 37th cap, a tally that sadly won’t be added to until next year. His influence on the French in recent years has since been highlighted by OptaJonny in a tweet on Stat Perform’s rugby social media page.
The message read: “17 - Romain Ntamack has been directly involved in 17 tries for France since the last RWC (6 tries, 11 assists). No tier one fly-half has been involved in more (Finn Russell, Richie Mo'unga also 17), while no No10 has made more linebreaks than Ntamack in that period (13). Sidelined.”
Those numbers would have left French fans feeling glum that Ntamack is no longer available for a campaign that also features pool games versus Uruguay, Namibia and Italy before the knockout stages.
However, OptaJonny have since published a tweet that should enthuse French fans about Mathieu Jalibert, the likely replacement for Ntamack in the No10 France jersey.
“1 - Matthieu Jalibert is the top-ranking tier one fly-half for line breaks (0.9) and defenders beaten (3.8) per 80 minutes in Test rugby since the last RWC (min. 640 mins played), while he averages a try or assist every 85 minutes, also the best rate for a No10 in that time. Cover.”
Trending on RugbyPass
2
OTD – Declan Kidney takes step up into Test rugby
3
'Damaging' Jordie Barrett move only helps All Blacks- ex-Ireland wing
4
Stuart Hogg addresses rumours of rugby return
5
Latest Comments
What’s new its a common occurrence, just the journos out there expecting a negative spin. The outcome will be beneficial to jordie and Leinster. The home grown lads hav got some experience to step up to and be more competitive, that or spend the 6 months keeping the bench warm.
Go to commentsI’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. As a Saffer following SA teams in the URC - I now watch virtually every European game played on the weekend. In SR, I wouldn’t be bothered to follow the games being played on the other side of the world, at weird hours, if my team wasn’t playing. I now follow the whole tournament and not just the games in my time zone. Second, with New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. Thats why I think Japan’s league needs to get in the mix. The international flavor of those teams could make for a great spectacle. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? We’ve measured down to the average no. Of seconds per game. Where the measurement of the impact on the fanbase? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
Go to comments