The debate about the experimental law variations will reach its conclusion in the next few months, although conclusion is probably too strong a word with Australia threatening a hemisphere split if every single one of the changes is not adopted permanently.
A fear of the variations was that they would lead to homogeneity, diluting the differences in styles of play that give any sport enduring appeal. The trial in Europe does not involve some of the more extreme variations but a glance at the top four of the Guinness Premiership shows there is more than one colour.
If the play-offs were being held this weekend, London Irish would face Leicester while Gloucester would take on Bath. If Irish and Bath represent the Super 14 face of the Premiership, Gloucester and the Tigers embody more traditional English virtues.
Bath and Gloucester may be local rivals but in terms of style they are as far apart as Carlisle and Camborne. If Bath's motto is who dares wins, it is a case of who dares sins at Kingsholm, especially if the audacity is shown in their own half. Their outside-half Ryan Lamb has been kicking the ball from his own territory ever since being dropped after the opening-day flop at home to Leicester, and he was given a brutal reminder of why he was obliged to rein in his instinct when he was caught in possession a few yards inside his own half last Saturday against Saracens, conceded a penalty for holding on and watched the visitors take it quickly and score a try.
A few years ago it was Gloucester who were all sparkle and glitter while the prospect of watching Bath, who tended to score in multiples of three, made a trip to the dentist seem pleasurable. Bath topped the Guinness Premiership but lost in the play-off final while Gloucester have finished at the head of the table in the last two seasons without picking up the trophy.
Gloucester won friends but not silverware. That forced a rethink from their head coach, Dean Ryan, and their game is now far more structured. Ryan said earlier this month that running from your own 22 amounted to suicide rugby, in which case Bath should be renamed the Kamikazes because they have no inhibitions about throwing the ball around behind their own goal-line.
There is only one point separating the rivals in the table, which suggests they have both got it right for the moment. But only one team will be crowned champions and Bath have to learn from their failure to win two away games in recent months which were theirs until the final minutes, Toulouse last October and Leicester last Sunday.
They were 13 points up at Welford Road with nine minutes of normal time remaining and stopped playing. They made 101 tackles in the second half, as many as they would normally expect to make in a whole game, and paid for inviting Leicester on.
The bonus point they went home with was scant consolation for some scintillating play in the opening hour. Butch James arrived at Bath a couple of years ago with the reputation of being a physical outside-half who spent more time seeking confrontation than space.
But look at him now. He was probably the player of the first half of the season, a Harlem Globetrotter revelling in the outrageous. Some of his line-kicking at Leicester was even more inventive than Carlos Spencer's and the normally polished home full-back Geordan Murphy found himself twisted inside and out.
The Bath head coach, Steve Meehan, has kept a relatively low profile in his three years in charge at the Recreation Ground but his impact has been as revolutionary as Arsène Wenger's at Arsenal. Bath are now the neutral's fancy but will they crack as the pressure mounts? They face Wasps at the Recreation Ground on Saturday: the corresponding fixture last season will take some living up to. Both sides claimed a try bonus point but it was Wasps who secured the victory with an astonishing second-half comeback.
Meehan says Bath will remain true to their principles when the season moves into its decisive stage. Ryan will not be tempted to let his runners off the leash too far from the line and, whatever the impact of the law variations in England, a lack of variety is not yet one of them. Vive le difference.
