Change in rugby union rarely happens quickly. It is more than two decades since try bonus points were first introduced in New Zealand provincial rugby and 13 years since they first featured at a Rugby World Cup. The Six Nations committee’s decision to break belatedly with tradition and give them a whirl in 2017 is a bit like your grandfather joining Twitter.
Given how many times Six Nations officials have wheeled out the old “if it ain’t broke” argument and clung resolutely to the status quo it is mildly surprising they have now jumped on the progressive bandwagon. Some of us have long argued it would do no harm, that it might actually help to improve attacking execution in the northern hemisphere and promote rugby among floating voters. It will be fascinating to see if this supposed revolution makes any discernible difference.
Either way, there is clearly a degree of reluctance in the tone of the tournament organisers. For a start this is only a trial, for one year only. Surely these things can only be judged over a lengthier period? Is the world’s oldest rugby tournament simply swaying in the breeze of public opinion? Maybe those at the helm are already anticipating howls of protest when the February weather closes in and teams playing on sunny afternoons in Rome suddenly pick up multiple try bonus points which are less accessible on a freezing, damp Murrayfield evening.
There is a slight hint of intrinsic unfairness, it is true. But since when has the Six Nations ever been totally fair? Some years teams play three games at home, the next they have only two. Some teams have a more daunting schedule than others, with television companies always desperate to stage-manage a gripping finale. Since the tournament was expanded to include Italy in 2000 there has invariably been a naturally occurring imbalance.
It may simply be that the Six Nations committee, tiring of criticism of its stick-in-the-mud tendencies, opted for the simplest available concession in order to make itself appear a more forward-looking, innovative organisation. It makes it slightly easier, for example, to bat away more radical suggestions such as moving the tournament to April and May. At a time when the global rugby schedule is being renegotiated it also demonstrates a slightly more flexible mindset, something every administrator in world rugby needs to have right now.
The biggest hope, though, will be that try – and losing – bonus points enliven some of the more moribund midwinter fixtures. It is not going to affect a grand slam-winning team – anyone winning all five matches will receive an additional three-point bonus – but might just alter the approach of sides in the middle, with more prize money on offer to those who finish higher in the table.
No one is suggesting players will try any harder but it would bring the Six Nations more into line with the World Cup and the Rugby Championship. How, exactly, is that “cheapening” the sacred allure of international rugby? Winning will still be rewarded but so, too, will playing in a more modern, positive style.
Equally there will be every reason to dig that little bit deeper for a losing bonus point, not least if it is the difference between a wooden spoon or otherwise. Previously sides have been separated by points difference which does not always tell the full story. Should 50 points scored in a home rout against Italy count for 50 times more than an epic one-point win over England at Twickenham? Better, surely, to reward teams seeking to play ruthless, winning rugby, home or away, in all weathers.
As recently as 2013, for example, Wales won the title having scored just nine tries in their five games. Ireland scored just eight in 2015. When the Six Nations chairman, Pat Whelan, talks about “enhancing our competition for fans, teams, broadcasters and all of those for whom the championship means so much” it is reasonable to speculate that television companies, in particular, have been keen to try something different. The chief executive, John Feehan, is right to seek to protect the “unique dynamic” that ensures the title is never truly settled before the final weekend but also knows rugby has to keep pace with sport’s increasingly less patient audiences. “We are also conscious we must reward try scoring and an attacking style of play that will deliver more tries and greater rewards for fans and players alike,” he said.
It would have made no difference last year, when England carried everything before them and collected their first grand slam since 2003. This time there is already a sense the championship’s final fixture between Ireland and England in Dublin may determine the title, regardless of try bonus points. It will be a surprise to this observer, though, if this belated “trial” does not prove to be a popular way forward.
