Steven Luatua's late try against Australia came after a points blitz in the middle 40 minutes © Getty Images

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In any sport it is often the competitor who finishes strongest who goes on to claim victory, but has this been the case in this year's Rugby Championship? A look at the stats from this year suggest that the middle two quarters of the game are vital in dictating which team comes out on top, rather than the final 20 minutes.

The Springboks showed last Saturday in their defeat of Australia - scoring three tries in the last ten minutes - that finishing a match strongly can reap great reward. However a glance at the statistics shows that, in the long run, a strong finish doesn't always lead to success.

The All Blacks haven proven to be masters of the middle phase (Opta) ©

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Looking at the statistics of the 2014 Rugby Championship winners New Zealand, one of the overwhelming facts to appear is that the All Blacks are the only team to have a positive scoring margin in the middle quarters of their fixtures, scoring a total of 78 points and conceding just 12 in the 20 minutes before and after half-time.

The matchday four encounter between New Zealand and South Africa, often such an important fixture in the Rugby Championship, highlights this point excellently. South Africa started strongly with a 15th minute try from speedster Cornal Hendricks, but eight points for New Zealand in the middle 40 minutes of the game proved vital. Compared to South Africa's three points scored in the same period the five point swing proved vital, as the All Blacks emerged 14-10 victors.

Similarly, in the all-important Bledisloe Cup match in Auckland, with New Zealand leading Australia 9-3 at the 20 minute mark, the All Blacks amassed 35 unanswered points in the next two quarters before running out 51-20 winners.

Whether it is deliberate or mere coincidence that the All Blacks end the first half and begin the second strongly, it is evident that this middle section of a game is vitally important in determining the eventual winner. In the case of New Zealand, it appears that they go for the jugular in this middle period before matching their opponent in the final 20 minutes to see out the game - a ploy which has seen them win the Championship yet again.