- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Professional sport is about entertainment. Now, some may argue that rugby is already plenty entertaining and that is certainly true at times. A good game of rugby is a wonderful thing.
You could also argue that it’s the variety in playing styles that provide that value. Maybe, maybe not.
Someone will definitely highlight the obsession many Australians have with making the game more open and entertaining. That we outwardly project our insecurities and that our market is more the exception to the norm, rather than the rule. You know what, they are right.
But that doesn’t make our ideas and suggestions any less valid.
In fact, it could be argued that in a market with two strong competitors looking to fill a similar space, we are in the perfect environment to evolve the game.
And it appears we are not alone. World Rugby has been running a raft of trials, leading into the last Rugby World Cup and others since.
Anyone familiar with the Varsity Cup in South Africa will be acutely aware of the numerous variations trialled in that particular competition.
Change takes time and often meets with a great deal of resistance. People concerned with preserving the fabric of the game, the contest. But rugby has evolved a lot over the last 30 years and it needs to continue that evolution.
Already we have seen a number of NRC variations graduate to Super Rugby. The 30-second scrum clock and the opportunity to kick for touch off a penalty and still take the lineout after the siren are two obvious ones. It could be suggested that the ‘no need to throw the ball in straight if the opposition doesn’t contest’ has snuck its way in from the overwhelming number of crooked lineouts that have emerged recently.
But it’s now time to introduce the most influential change: the eight-point try, coupled with the one-point penalty.
It’s nothing new. A variant has been used in the NRC since its inception and the Varsity Cup for a few season now. The only real difference is World Rugby’s variation call for a 6-2-1 scoring regime as opposed to the NRC’s original 5-3-1.
A more judicial use of the cards system to ensure players don’t continuously spoil this scoring system has empowered teams to show greater ambition and endeavour, looking to exact maximum reward from maximum effort. The devaluing of the penalty goal has removed the ‘easy’ points from the game and negates teams playing for penalties rather than giving it a real go.
Now, some will voice their concerns, perhaps stating that it lessens the importance of forward play and the set piece. Not so, to play the up tempo, up-skilled game, the trial variations encourage forward dominance. If you don’t dominate up front, you’re going to struggle to stay in a game.
Additionally, a strong set-piece game is key to the ability to capitalise on possession. Parity is the bare minimum. The scrum and maul are deadly weapons under this scoring system.
Others may point out the high number of tries scored and the impact of defence. In the 24 games played in the 2016 edition of the NRC to date, there have been 229 tries scored at 9.5 tries a game. But what that doesn’t show is a number of very close games built on defence but also coupled with rapid-fire attack looking to exploit any lapses in concentration.
According to the Sydney Rays coach Simon Cron, while talking to Fox Sports rugby commentator Sean Maloney, in a competition where players cover an average of 1.2 kilometres more than they would in a Super Rugby game, those lapses do occur and are punished.
It’s time for Super Rugby to really become super by name and nature. While an average of 9.5 tries a game may cause some to baulk, it has to be remembered that the NRC isn’t Super Rugby.
Still, would getting so much bang for your buck be that bad?
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.