I've not found any single best place to find stats which is really frustrating, have to look at 3+ sites to get a good idea and often a stat site will only have one good stat and a whole bunch of noise like I look at lineout stats at one site and its the only good stat I get from that site. Rugbypass has some good stats but its clearly incomplete. But one good example of what it shows is that Todd and Savea have made about the same number of tackles this season but Todd has played more than 2 hours less Rugby than Savea, but more to that is the effectiveness of those tackles. Cane is IMO the most effective defender we have. a heck of a lot better than Hooper as well, by that I mean he is so good at stopping attackers on or before the advantage line and in so he stops opposition teams gaining any momentum, its more than just making tackles. Sure the 7 has many jobs and must be multi skilled but for test rugby and the All Blacks those key defensive stats are so much more important than they are in super rugby and in particular tight games and finals rugby. That same site shows just how great Savea's running game is with his meters and defenders beaten. But heck look at the weekends game. Todd made one of the key attacking moments of the game with ball in hand, made a bust and drew two defenders offloaded in the tackle which a couple of passes later Sevu ran in for a try. While Todd dont clock up meters like Savea does he still has a very effective carrying game. What it boils down too IMO is the extra bulk Cane and Todd carry around. They are harder to hold up and they take down opposition ball carriers harder and faster, more on them when they hit rucks. Where Savea is faster and more mobile but doesn't have that same stopping power on defense, IMO again this year Cane or Todd should be our go to opensides and Savea makes a good bench option. But its a big call to take 3 opensides in a 31 man squad. My bet is they will all get test caps this year, all get a chance to prove themselves. But IMO I think we would be much better off with Cane or Todd starting when it comes RWC knockout games. I think those two are more likely to make a difference in close tightly contested games.
I looked at that site and some of its stats seem very off, eg turnivers won, so they are either wrong or they are defining things quite differently.
I know what you mean tegarding cane tackling players before the advantage line, he is very good at that. But that is still hoopers specialty. Cane is more like part hooper part pocock part latter day McCaw.
I also agree that cane does this more than Ardie, because Ardie is more often playing the role of fetcher. You can't do both. It's also why hooper does it more than cane, when he is playing with pocock, because it then gives pocock the opportunity to fetch. Cane and Ardie play a less singular role in that regard, each weighing up the decision at the time.
Ardie may not carry as much weight but he is still the most effective player at the clean out, even slightly better than Sam Whitelock at the moment. Savea uses his strength, and agility so he can best maneuver his body to use his strength.
Human brains like to put things in boxes, eg the guy that's a good runner or the guy that's a good tackler, and Ardie suffers from that. Unless you are watching really closely and without preconceived biases it's practically impossible for the human brain to judge. And you can't concentrate on everything in a game that's hapoening at once. That's why i tend to focus on a few players a game, while noticing everyone else more generally, less intently. I've watched Savea and I've watched cane and Todd, and to me Savea and cane are one and two in that order in the latter part of the competition, for any position, but Savea still easily number one.
I'm probably due another dedicated watching of Todd, so I might do that this weekend.
I think there is potentially space for all 3 at the World Cup, as 7 is probably still considered a reasonably specialised position, and Ardie can back up at 8. They Could pick dalton instead of Todd as a 7/6 option depending on who else they take. They can always bring Todd in Should there be an injury.
