I talked to former Wallaby prop Ben Darwin, founder of analytics firm Gain Line, about what he calls “Cohesion”.

“We know more than we can tell,” wrote scientist-philosopher Michael Polanyi in The Tacit Dimension, published in 1966. The concept of unconscious knowledge has been around for a long time. Tacit Knowledge. Organisational experience. In the context of team sports, former Wallaby prop Ben Darwin, founder of analytics firm Gain Line, calls it cohesion.

Tacit knowledge is, by definition, unobservable. But that doesn’t mean one can’t make estimates.

Darwin says that while England has excellent coaching, seemingly infinite money and great talent, the greatest resource one can possess is the level of understanding between players.

Read more: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/irish-times-data/how-ireland-have-closed-the-gap-on-the-superpowers-of-world-rugby-1.2160472