How much do individuals influence the team?

By Simon
September 25 2002

The win against Newcastle saw some fine individual performances from the likes of Tim Stimpson, who put in a flawless kicking display, and Lewis 'Mad Eye' Moody, who transformed the Tigers restarts. But do these players really make a difference to the result, or is it truely the team that counts?

To answer this question I looked at the results from this and last season, and compiled a list of the number of wins and losses when each player was involved. To have a proper influence on the game I decided that they must have at least 40 minutes playing time. I have also only included those that have played 10 times or more, otherwise players that joined this season, for example, will look bad after the poor start to the season.

Heading the list is the old battler Darren Garforth, who won an amazing 85% of the games he was involved in. Richard Cockerill was also very successful, although played in less games. Austin Healey is the first back to appear, but with 7 out the top 10 being forwards, perhaps this is proof that it is the forwards that win games!

A special mention must go to Rod Kafer who has played in 32 out of the 38 games since he arrived, and considering he missed the start to the current season, it shows how ever-present he was last year. Harry Ellis wins the battle of the scrum halves against Jamie Hamilton, but Austin could claim the crown after playing in that position a lot last year.

Propping up the table is Josh Kronfeld who has won only 53% of his games. With both Back and Moody winning better than 80% it is no surprise that Deano doesn't start him that often!

WIN %	LOSE %	PLAYER	WON	LOST	PLAYED
76	24	TIGERS	29	9	38
85	15	Darren Garforth	22	4	26
83	17	Richard Cockerill	10	2	12
83	17	Austin Healey	19	4	23
82	18	Perry Freshwater	9	2	11
82	18	Lewis Moody	18	4	22
82	18	Geordan Murphy	18	4	22
81	19	Neil Back	17	4	21
81	19	Graham Rowntree	21	5	26
81	19	Tim Stimpson	21	5	26
80	20	Martin Johnson	20	5	25
79	21	Ben Kay	23	6	29
79	21	Harry Ellis	11	3	14
78	22	Dorian West	18	5	23
78	22	Rod Kafer	25	7	32
78	22	Steve Booth	21	6	27
76	24	Glenn Gelderbloom	13	4	17
76	24	Andy Goode	16	5	21
74	26	Martin Corry	17	6	23
74	26	Louis Deacon	14	5	19
73	27	Peter Short	8	3	11
72	28	Jamie Hamilton	13	5	18
71	29	Oliver Smith	15	6	21
71	29	Freddie Tuilagi	17	7	24
69	31	Will Johnson	9	4	13
69	31	Leon Lloyd	11	5	16
60	40	Ricky Nebbett	6	4	10
53	47	Josh Kronfeld	9	8	17