Ron Brodrick's Spirit
Well-known member
Stats. are fine as a basic measuring tool, but that's all they are.I agree that May has been better for us than Utoikamanu ever was but I think it is really only in the minutes he is able to play whilst maintaining a high quality. The comparative output whilst on the field however isn't really much different. I don't think the criticism of Utoikamanu
lines up with reality (though admittedly have only watched a few storm games not all of them).
Up until last night Utoikamanu had the 2nd most tackle breaks of any front rower. Average less than 1 missed tackles a game and only had 1 error for the season.
He is just outside the top 10 front rowers for run metres and post contact metres which might go along with suggesting he is average but he is getting these metres in significantly less time on the field than most above him (average 27 minutes less than May). His output per minute or per run across all stats he is still one of the leading front rowers in the game.
Now you could point to minutes played and say but he doesn't have the motor of the better front rowers. This might be true or it might be Bellamy doesn't see the need to play his leading front rower for huge minutes this early in the season.
Having said all that I think May is definitely the better option for us, we need his big minutes. I just think Utoikamanu has been playing well from the few games I have seen and the statistics would support this.
To really appreciate the performance of May against the substandard displays that Stefano was putting in you need to use your eyes.
Take a look at the impact on his team's performance, where he makes the runs, when he makes the runs, how's his positioning and line speed in defence, does he have mental lapses, how effective are the offloads. In all of these areas Stef isn't in the same league as Terrell..
A prime example is that Stef let the try in that changed the momentum of the game through sheer laziness in defence, yet he won't be credited with a missed tackle.
Get your head out of the stats sheet and watch the game with analytical eyes.
Last night when the chips were down Stef did what he always did for us and shrank into the background.
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