So perhaps the shark has not been jumped just yet and defence may not be optional after all. Indeed, there was a consensus in pre-season that rugby is cyclical, trends will come and go and attacking impetus will be en vogue for a time before defences get back on top. \u201cThe game ebbs and flows,\u201d said Exeter\u2019s director of rugby, Rob Baxter. \u201cThere were some really high-scoring games last season but it wouldn\u2019t surprise me at all to see some real dogfights and nailbiters this season, I think that\u2019s the way the game is heading.\u201d<\/p>\n
Courtney Lawes, who has returned to the Prem with Sale after two seasons in France, was of a similar opinion, having watched the English top flight from across the Channel. The manner in which Sale dug in against Saracens, despite losing Jacques Vermeulen to a 20th-minute red card, appears to support his point.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of tries, 40 points, 30 points each way, that\u2019s quite interesting,\u201d Lawes says. \u201cIt\u2019ll be interesting this season. It might be the team that\u2019s got the best defence that actually wins the league. When you\u2019ve both got 50 or 40 points on the board, that\u2019s a pretty open game, isn\u2019t it? So defences have got to tighten up. I understand why the attacking game is important, but if you can equally have a good defence, then you\u2019re going to win more games than the boys that are only interested in attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two rounds is not enough to draw conclusions. There have already been, and will continue to be, blowouts when teams simply try to outscore opponents. But as the Northampton director of rugby, Phil Dowson, says: \u201cI see a lot of comments around \u2018it\u2019s becoming basketball\u2019 but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any lack of intent in defence. I don\u2019t think we\u2019re not defending.\u201d<\/p>\n
Northampton\u2019s defeat at Bristol is a fascinating case because it was far from the exhibition many thought possible given how lethal both attacks can be: yet there were still 10 tries scored. Perhaps a greater attacking intent, brought about by a number of factors including the absence of relegation, a collective drive to deliver a more entertaining product, refereeing changes and improving pitches, has all meant more tries are scored. Perhaps Bristol can defend remarkably well against Saints and still concede four tries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve no doubt in my mind that, like in the NFL, it ebbs and flows between attack and defence,\u201d says Dowson. \u201cSometimes the attack is very popular and sometimes the defence comes out on top. When Shaun Edwards came in at Wasps and changed the game when I was playing, that was a step-change in defence. Everyone complains, \u2018It\u2019s 9-3, 12-6,\u2019 now we\u2019re going, \u2018Oh it\u2019s 48-32\u2019 \u2013 what do people want? That\u2019s the question isn\u2019t it, what do we want the game to look like?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phil Dowson, Northampton\u2019s director of rugby, said Fitz Harding was \u2018exceptional\u2019 at the breakdown for Bristol at Ashton Gate. Photograph: Bob Bradford\/CameraSport\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
That is indeed the question and the pre-season view of Leicester\u2019s Geoff Parling showed it is not easy to answer. \u201cThe product on the pitch in general is decent,\u201d Parling said. \u201cLots of tries scored, although I would say that doesn\u2019t necessarily equal a good game for me. I think 9-8 can be a beautiful game, in the right way, a genuine gladiatorial contest with physicality going at each other. I think try-scoring in general is a good thing, but it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it is a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791507370_138_500.jpg\")
<\/p>\n