Quote: Grimmy "Is it me or do the stats seem inflated? Surely we didn't have seven players clocking up over 100m (two approaching 200m) when we only had one break all game and only completed 65% of our sets. I know Burgess went about 80m for his try but 194m still seems a bit high. Charnley is at 120m and I barely remember him touching the ball!'"
I know something about how these stats are produced and you wouldn't be surprised to know that they are to be taken with a large pinch of salt.
They are mostly done straight after the game by a fairly young person, most probably a student, who doesn't mind working into the night. They are often football fans who watch a bit of rugby as a second sport. The statistician will watch the game over on a monitor and just compile the stats as they go along. They might not recognise a player, not being familiar with a particular team. Some players who are more recognisable get other players stats through error.
The tackle thing is a minefield. When is someone credited with a tackle? As third man in for example when they've barely touched the attacker? Often the camera angle won't show up who missed the tackle so they just guess. The other season Faz went about twelve games without missing a tackle, which was ridiculous.
And you are right about the yardage too. Anyone watching the game would be staggered how those metres could add up.
The whole process is far from being scientific. A lot of guesswork is involved and human error is massive. Furthermore, how are these things checked? There just isn't the time or the inclination for someone to sit up all night and do a 100% check.
