Tries the name of the game in VC 2012

More tries are being scored this season and fewer penalty kicks are being attempted, proving that the points-scoring trial in the 2012 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International is working.

According to statistics from the official South African Referees website (www.sareferees.co.za) – comparing all the televised matches after five rounds in 2012 to those ten games from 2011 – thirteen more tries have been scored this year, compared to last season.

Another interesting statistic is that the eight-point converted try would have had a different result in only two out of the ten televised games thus far. In other words, the result in terms of winning or losing would have been different in only two out of the ten games if the eight-point try and two points per penalty kick and drop-goal applied.

However, despite that, tries are still up by over 20% compared to last year – an impressive statistic nonetheless and proving that this experiment is providing more exciting, running rugby.
 

SUMMARY AFTER FIVE ROUNDS:
(Televised matches only)

Total tries scored:
2011 – 53
2012 – 66
24,5% increase

Penalties awarded:
2011 – 232
2012 – 258
11,2% increase

Penalty kicks aimed at goal:
2011 – 59
2012 – 17
71,2% decrease

Yellow cards issued:
2011 – 4
2012 – 4
No change

Total points scored:
2011 – 477
2012 – 507
6,3% increase

* Statistics courtesy of www.sareferees.co.za