Ox is number one in URC

Today at 06:19 AM

Sharks scrum juggernaut Ox Nche has been unveiled as the best player in the Vodacom URC, according to the official competition ranking system.

The Sharks prop is the new No 1 in the URC Top 100 – the ranking system which reflects performances across the  URC, EPCR competitions and international rugby.

Following in the footsteps of fellow Springbok loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff, who twice previously topped the chart, 29-year-old Nche leads the way on the rankings which include five more South Africans in the top 10 – namely,  Bulls bruisers Elrigh Louw and Gerhard Steenekamp, Lions fullback Quan Horn, Sharks centre Andre Esterhuizen and Edinburgh prop Boan Venter.

CLICK HERE for Official URC Top 100

The top ten includes seven forwards and three backs, with Horn the leading performer behind the scrum, while there are 11 South Africans in the top 20.

By topping the table, Nche – who was fifth this time last year – follows the example set by fellow Bok Shark Eben Etzebeth and Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan, in addition to Kitshoff.

Powered by the StatMaster xP algorithm, the URC Top 100 identifies the most valuable performers across the 16  URC teams by analysing every match they have appeared in during the last 12 months.

Then StatMaster applies an "expected points" (xP) algorithm to each event in those games. Like "expected points added" (EPA) in the NFL and "expected goals" (xG) in football, this revolutionary stat measures the impact each player has on his side's chance of scoring. It's based on the idea that rugby is a team game and while the player who slots the ball through the posts or touches it down deserves plenty of credit, so do the 14 others who helped create that opportunity.

For example, a player can gain points by doing things that increase his team's probability of claiming the next score, such as crashing past defenders, nailing a 50/22 kick, earning a scrum penalty or winning a crucial turnover on his own try-line.

On the other hand, if he makes a costly error, he can lose points. Crucially, the algorithm adjusts for lots of match factors, including a player's position, his location on the field, the phase type, the time on the clock and the quality of his team-mates and opponents.

All this allows URC StatMaster to give the most accurate data-driven estimates of how much players are currently contributing to their teams. The ratings can also be broken into skill types, so you can look at the best prop at scrummaging, the best flanker at defending, the best fly half at goal kicking or the best winger at carrying.

All the ratings have been scaled so an average  URC player scores 80, with the very best performers in the league reaching over 90. As an illustration, Nche is on 95.2, with his nearest rival, Bulls back rower Louw, on 94.2.

As the season progresses and players shuffle in and out of the Top 100, StatMaster will be on hand to analyse the biggest movers and shakers.

URC Top 10
1 Ox Nche (Sharks)
2 Elrigh Louw (Bulls)
3 Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls)
4 Jack Conan (Leinster)
5 Paul Hill (Edinburgh)
6 Quan Horn (Lions)
7 Tadhg Beirne (Munster)
8 Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks)
9 Boan Venter (Edinburgh)
10 Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)

Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images

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