After one weekend of the Prem season the feeling was we had crossed the Rubicon. A remarkable 52 tries, eclipsing the previous record for round one despite the fact that fewer matches were played added further weight to the argument – a criticism and a compliment – that the English club game is creeping closer towards a form of basketball. Then came round two and 41 tries.
A sizeable number, certainly compared with seasons of yesteryear, but equally giving a sense that defences had their day in some cases. Sale’s gritty victory over Saracens was a dogfight, Leicester’s win over Newcastle wasn’t pretty and while Bristol ran in six tries against Northampton, their success owed everything to defensive steel. So perhaps the shark has not been jumped just yet and defence may not be optional after all.
Indeed, there was a consensus in pre-season that rugby is cyclical, trends will come and go and attacking impetus will be en vogue for a time before defences get back on top. The manner in which Sale dug in against Saracens, despite losing Jacques Vermeulen to a 20th-minute red card, appears to support his point. It might be the team that’s got the best defence that actually wins the league.
When you’ve both got 50 or 40 points on the board, that’s a pretty open game, isn’t it? So defences have got to tighten up. I understand why the attacking game is important, but if you can equally have a good defence, then you’re going to win more games than the boys that are only interested in attack.” Two rounds is not enough to draw conclusions.
There have already been, and will continue to be, blowouts when teams simply try to outscore opponents. But as the Northampton director of rugby, Phil Dowson, says: “I see a lot of comments around ‘it’s becoming basketball’ but I don’t think there’s any lack of intent in defence. I don’t think we’re not defending.” Northampton’s defeat at Bristol is a fascinating case because it was far from the exhibition many thought possible given how lethal both attacks can be: yet there were still 10 tries scored.
Perhaps a greater attacking intent, brought about by a number of factors including the absence of relegation, a collective drive to deliver a more entertaining product, refereeing changes and improving pitches, has all meant more tries are scored. Perhaps Bristol can defend remarkably well against Saints and still concede four tries. When Shaun Edwards came in at Wasps and changed the game when I was playing, that was a step-change in defence.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
