Missed tackle stats

The missed tackles stats for the three Six Nations games to date make for interesting reading, particularly if you’re English or Irish. They also raise some interesting questions about the choice of Lions fly halves.

The ranking:

1) Prendergast - 15 2) Mitchell - 13 3) Slade - 12 4) Earl - 10 Lamaro - 10 5) Brex - 8 6) Nicotera - 7 Lowe - 7 Russell - 7 7) F Smith - 6 Barassi - 6 Aldritt - 6 Capuozzo - 6 Gibson-Park - 6 8) T Curry - 5 M Smith - 5

It’s interesting that the narrative keeps being wheeled out that Marcus Smith can’t defend - yet he’s missed fewer tackles than Finn Smith despite playing in 80 minutes of all three games. Prendergast is being talked up as the Lions fly half (or at least an understudy to Russell), but he’s missed three times as many tackles as Marcus Smith. Until an article today about it in the Times, no-one had really questioned his defence, yet with Marcus it’s a regular refrain.

From an English perspective, it is interesting / alarming how many tackles Earl misses too, while Mitchell’s frailties in that are pretty obvious. Interestingly though people focus on what they’re good at, rather than their weaknesses, unlike with Marcus.