He had some incredible performances.
There were many standout performances from an Irish perspective in this year’s Six Nations.
Joe Schmidt’s side finished in a respectable second place but there is still a sense of what might have been when you think back to the losses against both Scotland and Wales.
However, some players definitely stood up throughout the tournament and this couldn’t apply more to Munster and Ireland’s CJ Stander.
The 26-year-old predominantly played at blindside flanker for the majority of the championship but was put into his more natural No. 8 position for the final game against England due to the late injury to Jamie Heaslip.
Amazing stuffhttps://t.co/M4bzHkjfR1
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 18, 2017
No matter what position he played in, Stander put in performances which were characterised by a relentless work rate and a blatant disregard for his own welfare.
He tackled like a machine but it wasn’t just the number of tackles he put in, he was incredibly accurate in this regard too.
- 8 tackles 0 missed v England
- 9 tackles 0 missed v Wales
- 13 tackles 1 missed v France
- 11 tackles 0 missed v Italy
- 11 tackles 0 missed v Scotland
The Munster man only missed one tackle in the entirety of the Six Nations.
But it’s not his tackling accuracy which has seen him break a Six Nations record but his carrying ability.
104 – @IrishRugby's @CJStander made 104 carries in this year's @SixNationsRugby, the most ever in an edition of the tournament. Relentless. pic.twitter.com/rMCt41BkqN
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) March 20, 2017
Opta have revealed that Stander made 104 carries in this year’s tournament, more than any other player in any edition of the Six Nations.
The 26-year-old is actually on the list twice as his performance during last year’s championship has him in third on the list also, behind England’s Billy Vunipola.
This just shows the incredible work-rate and power which Stander possesses and you would imagine that any team in world rugby would utilise these attributes if they had someone like him in their team.
