Premier Monotony (30 October 2005)
A win is a win", how many times have you heard that comment from a relieved club committee man or successful team captain at the end of a game which has not exactly thrilled the spectators thronging the touchlines? Quite often, I would think if, like me, you cast your eye over the Guinness Premiership and Heineken Cup matches where, this season, a win does just seem to be a win without style, flair, or panache.
Leeds Tykes' former All Black scrum half, Justin Marshall, hardly needed to play in 81 Test Matches for New Zealand to indicate what a fine running and handling midfield back he is for, instinctively, he displays all the attributes of a creative footballer when he has the ball in his hands. But what is his complaint since arriving in England this season to play his rugby?   "In New Zealand we look to move the ball before contact so the game is moving all the time. Here, I am surprised that even the top sides like Wasps and Leicester do still seek contact. I thought they would be a bit more expansive but players seem to like running into each other rather than avoiding their opponents. It seems to be a premiership trend."
You can say that again, Justin! In a recent Heineken Cup game between the Sale Sharks and Munster the Sale and England stand off was judged to have "brought a touch of class to the confrontational battle" with his kicking of 17 points and his direction on the pitch. Possibly true. For Munster the Irish and British Lions stand off, Ronan O'Gara, scored 8 points from goal kicks. Yet neither player attempted to make a single break in the game by running with the ball and both players rarely attempted to bring their back divisions into play. Again a glance at the match report indicates that Sale Sharks used "their big men to batter away in the pick-and-drive game" - tactics which brought them the win via one try from a ball squirting out of their opponents' scrum metres from the try line, and a second after a kick and chase by skipper Jason Robinson.
"A win is a win" and the right tactics to suit the game played? Possibly so, but is it not time to look at the reasons for such a style of rugby currently being played in the union code? Are there now too many fit, athletic forwards crowding around the maul and ruck areas for any talented stand off to display his running and sidestepping skills? When did you last see a sidestep? Would the likes of a Barry John, a David Watkins, a John Horton, a Jonathan Davies, a Phil Bennett be able to mesmerize opponents as they did with their footwork under today's rules and while faced with a midfield cluttered up with huge, shuffling forwards? Are there any ball playing, footballing back row forwards who can handle a ball in a free flowing movement or must they all be giant hulks whose sole purpose in life is to charge at each other, connect, and trundle merrily downfield in a rolling maul before flopping over the line for a try?
"A win is a win", true, but if only the manner of play allowed that win to be gained with some style a la Toulouse. After all, William Webb Ellis did pick up the ball at Rugby School with the intention of running with it - and avoiding would be tacklers!