Is Prem rugby union turning into basketball? Nailbiters supply case for defence
Record try-glut in round one suggested all-out attack is en vogue, but maybe you can defend well and still concede tries in the modern game?
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.
