Seventy-Five Tries

THE SEASON TOTAL. Seventy-five tries across the URC campaign including the quarter-final, and eleven more in the Challenge Cup. Twenty-five of the URC tries came in the six South African derbies — more than the Sharks, the Stormers or the Bulls managed in the same block.

THE ONES ON THE RECORD. Siba Mahashe and Henco van Wyk scored in the Round 12 win over the Stormers that secured the South African Shield, both inside the opening twenty minutes. Ruan Venter scored in the URC and again in the Challenge Cup. Henco van Wyk carries twelve tries across his Lions career to date at an average better than one in two appearances.

THE DISTRIBUTION MATTERS MORE THAN THE LEADER. Seventy-five tries and 57 try assists across a squad that used more than forty players in the competition is a broad scoring base rather than a narrow one. The Lions did not have a single finisher carrying the attack; they had a system that produced 203 clean breaks and shared the finishing between the backline and a back row that carried heavily.

THE COMPARISON. The Bulls scored 92 tries and Leinster 93. Both concentrated a larger share of their scoring in fewer players. The Lions' more even distribution is a strength for squad depth and a weakness for the moments when one individual has to win a match.

IN EUROPE. Eleven tries in four Challenge Cup pool matches — 2.75 a game, against 4.2 a game in the URC. The same attack, a different standard of defence.