That said - testrugby.com does give turnover stats for turnovers made - and they don't list Owens either. Which is crazy nuts. I assume they work on the basis it's only a turnover if the guy ends up carrying the ball. They give lower tackle counts for everyone too, don't think they count second tacklers which means Irish tackle counts drop dramatically on it. Stats are never totally reliable, and I try not to base my entire argument on them, but in this case the stats back up what I saw so much I've ended up overusing them.

Best was ok to good with one great match before the Italy debacle. Ireland's lineout success stat was 83.8pc or so before that match, slightly above Wales and England (83pc and 82pc). He was his usual self more or less in the loose, but without the spark, and obviously no one should really be celebrating a lineout success rate that low (although it's higher that what Strauss achieved in the Autumn throwing at the same targets). Obviously it drops lower overall by the end, although I never bothered to work it out.

I didn't mean to go after Hibbard per se - except on that tackle count - more to show Best was comparing ok in the loose. Yeah, true enough Hibbard does a lot of that close in stuff where you're never going to get much, although I don't think all his carries were of that nature. Even with that taken into account, the stats reinforce the picture I already have - a guy doing the job well enough, but not a shining light. Just don't think he was hugely better than Best if any until the last round. Obviously at the moment I'd start him, I'm just illustrating 1) Oh dear, we have a minor problem 2) Providing what I see as the right nuance to the picture of Best's form. The total collapse was very recent. The malaise, if we're honest, has been going on a fair bit longer than the 6N.