Matt Faddes and Aaron Smith celebrate after scoring a try against the Lions.

ANALYSIS: Possession and territory are two of the most common statistics in coverage of rugby games.

They are touted by commentators as being key factors in a team winning a match. Domination of the ball and position on the park makes people think a team is dominating the game, but it's time to put that thinking to one side.

Having more possession of the ball or better field position do not - on their own - make a team any more likely to win a game of rugby.

The graph above shows the relationship (or lack thereof) between possession and points margin, and territory and points margin. If having more possession and territory was a key factor in winning rugby games, you would expect the points margin to increase as possession and territory does. But the graph shows, teams that win possession and territory (dots above the horizontal line) are spread fairly evenly along the range of points margins.

We aren't saying possession and territory are completely useless statistics - they give us a description of the game - but on their own they don't tell us how good or bad a team is. The statistics need to be used in context.

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To start a series on what statistics have real significance in rugby, we looked at possession and territory from 397 games of Super Rugby and tier 1 internationals between 2015 and 2017.

We found that, on average, the winning team had 50.4 per cent possession and 49.8 per cent territory.

GETTY IMAGES Ben Smith doesn't need much of the ball to make something of his possessions.

In 73 of those games, one team had at least 60 per cent possession but went on to win just 53 per cent of the time. In 75 games, one team had at least 60 per cent territory but only won 48 per cent of the time.

The majority of teams are as likely to win the possession and territory battle as to lose it (the two statistics are highly correlated - almost perfectly in fact - so we will refer to them together as territory and possession from here on).

But there are some teams that tend to dominate or concede possession and territory in most of their games.

That's where the game plan comes in, and is why a glance at possession and territory only tells a story when put into context.

Two differing examples in Super Rugby are the Highlanders and the Lions.

Down south, the Highlanders are happy to play without the ball, while in South Africa, the Lions are a team reliant on keeping the ball, and inside their opponent's half.

During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the Highlanders had an average of 45.15 per cent possession, and 44.85 per cent territory while winning 23 of 33 matches at a rate of 69.69 per cent.

The Lions also win a high percentage of their games, 80.55 per cent over the 2016 and 2017 seasons, but had an average of 55.32 per cent possession and 55.59 per cent territory.

For these two contrasting yet successful teams, it is the game plan which is the big difference.

The Highlanders kick the ball away more than any other team. One in five of their possessions ends with someone like Lima Sopoaga kicking the ball away.

GETTY IMAGES Lima Sopoaga and the Highlanders kick the ball away one in every five possessions.

They kicked the ball 21.32 times a game on average, three more than the next highest side, the Hurricanes on 18.06.

Just 35 per cent of those kicks were put out on the full, and only 32 per cent of their kicks come from inside their own 22m, hinting at a side that is comfortable defending, or in possession deep inside their own half.

At the other end of the spectrum are the Lions, who kick the ball the fifth fewest in Super Rugby per possession, while amassing the third most carries per game on average.

When they kick, they often do so from deep in their own half and they seek to find touch. They kick just 14.15 times per game on average, with 44 per cent of those coming inside their own 22m.

The Lions kick the ball out of play 73 per cent of the time, more than twice as often as the Highlanders. They seek to go to a set piece, rather than offering the other side a chance to counter attack.

GETTY IMAGES The Highlanders are comfortable without the ball, even against Faf de Klerk and the potent Lions.

When the two sides clashed in March, 2016, the game plans collided to produce incredible numbers.

The Highlanders won the match at Forsyth Barr 34-15 while enjoying just 36.7 per cent possession and 33 per cent territory.

The Lions boasted 80 carries more than the Highlanders, yet ran less metres. The Highlanders had to make 91 tackles more than the Lions, but had a higher success rate.

What this all means is, when looking at possession and territory we need to ask the right questions.

When the Highlanders are playing, have their opposition been able to force them into having more ball than they'd like? Or have they just implemented their tactics?

For the Lions, can their opponents starve them of the ball? Can they force them to keep the ball in play?