A book at home reveals that the late David Duckham received fewer than three passes a game during his 36 caps for England.
“It’s testament to his skills that he still managed to pick up 10 tries,” the writer suggests.
The man isn’t wrong.
Not that any statistic was needed to confirm what Duckham brought to the table. He was one of rugby’s great wings, a player who could sidestep three men in a telephone box, as Bill McLaren once observed.
But number crunching can tell a lot.
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Warren Gatland seems the kind of man who will rely on what his eyes tell him first, but the performance figures supplied by the Welsh Rugby Union analysis team will undoubtedly find their way onto his desk in the coming days and Gatland will doubtless assess what is being offered to him.
So what will the details say?
We've had a look at the stats ourselves.
MOST CARRIES
Ken Owens 21, Liam Williams 21, George North 21, Taulupe Faletau 20, Joe Hawkins 18
Ken Owens may have had trouble with the odd dart but when it comes to carrying he’s been leading from the front, with Liam Williams and George North matching the skipper’s tally.
“Test rugby is a young man’s game now,” a Wales international from the 1980s said not so long ago.
Maybe it is, but when it comes to ball-carrying Wales’ old guard have been leading the way in terms of putting their hands up for work.
Note the effort of Taulupe Faletau. He was on the pitch for just 28 minutes on Saturday but came up with seven carries in a highly impressive set of stats.
Joe Hawkins flies the flag for the young brigade.
MOST METRES
Rio Dyer 198, Liam Williams 153, George North 109, Joe Hawkins 102, Alex Cuthbert 77
A nod here to Rio Dyer. The odd mistake there may have been over the two games, but the Dragons wing has been making headway. He has looked for work and challenged opposition defences.
Figures tell only part of the story, of course.
The numbers don’t cover missed opportunities.
But no-one can fault Dyer for effort.
Alex Cuthbert, anyone? In just 40 minutes of action off the bench, he has made 77 metres with ball in hand. Louis Rees-Zammit could be back for the England game, but Cuthbert has put his hand up.
The introduction of Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins did pep Wales in the carrying stakes, with the former making 50 metres against Scotland and his team-mate carrying ball for 30 metres. You can read here about Wales' special young player.
That said, collectively Wales are not making enough ground.
They have gone forward least of all the sides over the first two rounds, with Ireland making 400 metres more than Gatland’s team.
CLEAN BREAKS
Rio Dyer 3, Liam Williams 2, Dan Biggar 1, Joe Hawkins 1
Wales have been poor in this area.
Indeed, they managed just one clean break at Murrayfield while Scotland’s back-three brigade came up with eight.
Dyer heads the chart again with Liam Williams next best.
But Gatland’s team need to do better.
Much better.
DEFENDERS BEATEN
Liam Williams 8, Rio Dyer 4, Rhys Carre 2, Alex Cuthbert 2, George North 2, Joe Hawkins 2
Liam Williams’ running out of defence has been a plus for Wales, with the player Wayne Pivac used to call his ‘rubber-band man’ proving difficult to tackle. Collecting the ball from deep, he can sometimes look as if he’s enjoying a Sunday morning larkabout with his mates but his style can be deceptive along with the strength that allows him to break challenges.
Dyer has also registered on the radar.
Again, though, there’s scope for all concerned to improve, with Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe beating as many defenders on his own (20) as Wales’ top six players in that respect in this Six Nations.
TRIES
Liam Williams 1, Ken Owens 1
Short and sweet, Wales are bottom of the pile in this one.
Not good enough. Nowhere near good enough.
Liam Williams’ effort against Ireland was a well-worked affair and Ken Owens rumbled over against Scotland, but too many chances have been blown and the players and coaches will know it.
TACKLES MADE
Taulupe Faletau 29, Jac Morgan 28, Ken Owens 25, Adam Beard 22, Tommy Reffell 22
Despite featuring off the bench last weekend, Faletau has been the busiest Welsh player on the defensive front line in this Six Nations.
There was an 8-0 tackle return for him in 28 minutes against Scotland, to go with his seven carries, three passes and two offloads.
That’s impact.
It was an effort that Gatland will surely have noticed.
Jac Morgan has also been typically to the fore, along with skipper Owens and the oft-maligned Adam Beard, with Tommy Reffell working hard as well.
DOMINANT TACKLES
Ken Owens 4, Josh Adams 4, Tomas Francis 3, Jac Morgan 3, Justin Tipuric 3
Questions have been raised about Wales’ physicality, but they have put in 30 dominant hits over the first two rounds, more than any other team.
Owens and Josh Adams have been leading the way.
Adams may have been quiet as an attacking force but he’s been fronting up in defence, with three dominant shots coming in the opener against Ireland.
Tomas Francis and Justin Tipuric also put in the same number in that game.
MISSED TACKLES
Joe Hawkins 8, Jac Morgan 6, George North 5, Adam Beard 4, Ken Owens 4
New Wales defence coach Mike Forshaw will not be happy here, with Wales boasting the most missed tackles in the championship, with 67 opposition ball carriers sailing past Welsh defenders.
By contrast, Steve Tandy’s Scotland have failed with just 33 of their tackles, one fewer than Wales’s tally in last Saturday’s game alone.
Hawkins has made a mark with his creativity but there is room to improve in defence. He’s in good company, with Garry Ringrose, Owen Farrell and Anthony Jelonch also missing eight tackles apiece but the Wales youngster will want to tighten up.
Those who have yet to miss a hit include Tipuric (14-0), Gareth Thomas (14-0) and Rhys Webb (5-0). Tipuric and Thomas, of course, were dropped for the game at Murrayfield, while Webb has featured off the bench.
TURNOVERS WON
Jac Morgan 3, Ken Owens 1, Dan Biggar 1, Josh Adams 1, George North 1, Rhys Carre 1, Liam Williams 1, Christ Tshiunza 1, Dillon Lewis 1
Jac Morgan is joint-first in the entire championship here, sharing top spot with Jamie Ritchie and Alex Dombrandt.
Factor in that he’s also made the most metres of any Welsh forward and performed well in respect of his tackling and his physicality and he has a strong case in selection.
But others need to up their games when it comes to snaffling opposition ball.
TURNOVERS LOST
Rio Dyer 4, George North 4, Taulupe Faletau 2, Joe Hawkins 2, Tomos Williams 2
Not a chart anyone wants to feature high in.
Teams that don’t cherish the ball tend to come unstuck.
Wales have coughed up possession 23 times in just two games. Gatland will want an improvement for the England game.
LINEOUT WINS
Christ Tshiunza 5, Taulupe Faletau 4, Justin Tipuric 4, Adam Beard 4, Dafydd Jenkins 3
Wales’ lineout needs attention.
They have messed up six set-pieces with a number of those in promising positions.
Tipuric has been seen as their go-to man over the years, easy to lift and strong in the air, but he was dropped for the match with Scotland.
But Tshiunza was the main target at Murrayfield and largely did a grand job.
LINEOUT STEALS
Christ Tshiunza 1
The 6ft 6in Exeter Chief marked his first Wales start with a fine display.
But Wales are missing Will Rowlands, a lock who is adept at the art of ball pilfering.
PENALTIES CONCEDED
Liam Williams 4, George North 3, Adam Beard 3, Taulupe Faletau 3, Rhys Webb 3
Wales have conceded 32 penalties over two games and that’s way too many.
England, by contrast, have been pinged just 17 times.
Gatland had highlighted his side’s indiscipline after the game with Ireland but they conceded two penalties more against Scotland.
Repeat offenders are going to jeopardise their places.
YELLOW CARDS
Liam Williams 2, Rhys Webb 1
It’s a problem for Liam Williams. He is an instinctive player who operates on the edge and sometimes his commitment incurs the wrath of referees.
But he won’t need telling that his yellow-card habit in this Six Nations has to stop.
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