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Based in the last bastion of conservatism, the Six Nations is the only major rugby tournament in the world which still operates a point system without bonus points of any sort.
The main reason for this seems to be that with four points for a win, and four-try and close loss bonuses, it might be possible for a team to score a grand slam and still not win the tournament.
Instead, what they have is this year’s situation where three teams ended on the same number of points and the title was decided on points differential as in the points table below.
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Total points |
| Ireland | 5 | 4 | 1 | 119 | 56 | 63 | 8 |
| England | 5 | 4 | 1 | 157 | 100 | 57 | 8 |
| Wales | 5 | 4 | 1 | 146 | 93 | 53 | 8 |
| France | 5 | 2 | 3 | 103 | 101 | 2 | 4 |
| Italy | 5 | 1 | 4 | 62 | 182 | -120 | 2 |
| Scotland | 5 | 0 | 5 | 73 | 128 | -55 | 0 |
But let us look at whether it would have finished any differently if a bonus points system was used.
| Played | Won | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Close loss bonus | 4 Tries bonus | Total points | |
| Ireland | 5 | 4 | 1 | 119 | 56 | 63 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| England | 5 | 4 | 1 | 157 | 100 | 57 | 2 | 18 | |
| Wales | 5 | 4 | 1 | 146 | 93 | 53 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| France | 5 | 2 | 3 | 103 | 101 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Italy | 5 | 1 | 4 | 62 | 182 | -120 | 4 | ||
| Scotland | 5 | 0 | 5 | 73 | 128 | -55 | 3 | 3 |
The winner would still have been decided on points differential as the leading three teams all picked up two bonus points, so you could argue that nothing actually changes under a bonus point system.
But this is debatable. The first weeks of the tournament were a fairly stodgy display of what we have come to dismiss as standard Northern Hemisphere rugby.
While occasional bursts of great play broke out, there was no real incentive for teams to play expansive rugby and attempt to score tries.
That is, until the last weekend when all teams suddenly woke up to the fact that points difference was probably going to decide the title and they needed to crack on a few points. Suddenly teams were running it from everywhere, tries were being scored at a rapid clip, sparkling play predominated and points piled up in a great hurry.
But how much better could it have been if this urgency had been felt a little earlier in the tournament. If bonus points had been in use, this urgency could possibly have been created.
Teams recognising that the tournament could be tight, would be focused particularly on scoring that extra try. No longer would shots at goal be taken in the last quarter of the game when a try could be on offer if the ball was kicked into the corner.
At the other end of the table you see that Scotland in their last game would have been well motivated under a bonus point system to pick up another point, even a close loss point, which would have given Italy the wooden spoon on points differential.
This motivation may have been enough for them to fight harder against Ireland and could have won England the tournament.
There are numerous scenarios that could potentially play out, but in the end it does seem to make sense for bonus points to be used.
After all, the reason for the bonus point system is to keep interest in the result high until the end of each game and keep teams striving for positive play. This is what happens in the Super 15 with teams often keeping the ball in play far beyond the final whistle as there is still a chance of a bonus point being scored.
I suggest that bonus points would be a good fit in the Six Nations. The chances of a grand slam not winning the tournament are extremely slim, and I would say well done to any team that won the tournament by scoring lots of tries over a team that ground out more low scoring wins.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.