With the Six Nations done and dusted for another year Opta pick out the key performers from the tournament.
Stats don't lie as Six Nations team of the tournament is picked by Opta
With the Six Nations done and dusted for another year Opta pick out the key performers and name the Opta XV of 2010.
France may have won a ninth Grand Slam but each of the teams had their own star men, and in fact Les Bleus only have one representative in the XV.
That may mean it was more of a team effort for the French, while the other five nations had to depend on one man to lift their games.
Perhaps surprisingly, Scotland have the biggest influence on the team with five of Andy Robinson's men included after they produced some solid displays and did suffer from bad luck at times.
Italy and England join France in having just one inclusion, but that will surprise no-one, while Wales and Ireland share the remaining places.
| Team of the Tournament |
|
|
| 15 |
Lee Byrne |
Wales |
| 14 |
Sean Lamont |
Scotland |
| 13 |
James Hook |
Wales |
| 12 |
Yannick Jauzion |
France |
| 11 |
Shane Williams |
Wales |
| 10 |
Stephen Jones |
Wales |
| 9 |
Tomas O'Leary |
Ireland |
| 1 |
Tim Payne |
England |
| 2 |
Ross Ford |
Scotland |
| 3 |
Allan Jacobsen |
Scotland |
| 4 |
Quintin Geldenhuys |
Italy |
| 5 |
Paul O'Connell |
Ireland |
| 6 |
David Wallace |
Ireland |
| 7 |
John Barclay |
Scotland |
| 8 |
John Beattie |
Scotland |
|
Back Three:
Lee Byrne was the stand out full back in the tournament, he made more metres (372), beat the second most defenders (10) and made the fourth most offloads (8). Partnering him at the back is his Wales team mate, Shane Williams and Scotland's Sean Lamont. Williams was equal top try scorer (3) and beat more defenders (15) than any other player. Lamont made the second most metres (336) in the 2010 Six Nations, behind only Byrne and also made the joint most carries (61).
| Player |
Country |
Metres |
| Lee Byrne |
Wales |
372 |
| Sean Lamont |
Scotland |
336 |
| Clement Poitrenaud |
France |
326 |
|
Centres:
France's sole representative in the XV is Yannick Jauzion who partners James Hook in the midfield. Jauzion was a formidable force in defence and made more tackles (47) than any other back in the tournament, he also crossed for two tries. Hook was Opta's player of the tournament; he made the joint most carries (61) and clean breaks (7) as well scoring three tries and beating the joint-third most defenders (9). He also made more offloads than anyone else (12) and carried the ball for 306 metres.
| Player |
Country |
Carries |
| James Hook |
Wales |
61 |
| Sean Lamont |
Scotland |
61 |
| Nick Easter |
England |
57 |
|
Half Backs:
Stephen Jones was Opta's top performing fly half in the 2010 Six Nations, he made more tackles (27) and passes (176) than any other fly half as well providing two try scoring passes and finishing the tournament as top points scorer (63). Tomas O'Leary was the leading scrum half, proving his all-round ability by making the second most carries (61), metres (88) and tackles (23) by a scrum half as well as providing two try scoring passes.
Front Row:
Tim Payne, Ross Ford and Allan Jacobsen make up the front row. Payne made the third most carries (18) and fourth most tackles of any prop whereas Jacobsen made the second most tackles (31) and metres (33) by a prop. Ford had the most carries by a hooker (29) and the most efficient lineout throwing (94%).
Second Row:
Italy's only representative in the XV is second row forward Quintin Geldenhuys who made the most carries by a second row (31) and second most tackles by a lock (37). Paul O'Connell had another impressive tournament and partners Geldenhuys. The Irishman won the third most lineouts (18) and fourth most tackles (46) of any player in the tournament.
Back Row:
Two of the three Bs make up the back row, John Barclay and John Beattie, with the other spot being filled by David Wallace. Barclay was the top tackler (50) of the tournament and also made the most clean breaks by a forward (4) and won more turnovers than any other player (7). His back row partner John Beattie made the sixth most tackles (43) and also beat more defenders than any other forward (9).
Wallace made 39 carries, 157 metres and 40 tackles, showing his all-round worth.
| Player |
Country |
Tackles |
| John Barclay |
Scotland |
50 |
| Thierry Dusautoir |
France |
48 |
| Yannick Jauzion |
France |
47 |
|
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