Loose Pass: The 63-year trend ‘settled’ England can buck this Six Nations and our ‘obsession’ with speeding the game up
Loose Pass backs England to win the Six Nations Grand Slam.
This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with the obsession with speeding the game up and the onset of the Six Nations…
Speed for speed’s sake?
Another year, another tournament, another set of law trials and tweaks, all with the ubiquitous target of making the game faster and less stop-start or, in the words of Super Rugby Pacific: ‘reduce stoppages, inspire positive play and simplify the officiating of the game.’
Inspire? Tweaking laws to stop scrums happening may reduce waiting time for ball in play stuff and make the referees’ jobs easier, but it’s hardly inspirational.
That little rant against PR language aside, Loose Pass is also pretty uneasy about the whole constant law tweak and law trial and stop-the-scrums-and-make-it-faster obsession that continues to pervade.
It’s hard to deny rugby has got quicker, faster and more entertaining over the past couple of decades, but that’s got at least as much to do with the physical improvements in the players, improved coaching, improved player vision and improved refereeing as it has to do with any new laws.
It’s hard to perceive how much of an impact the new tweaks will really have. Awarding a free-kick for an accidental offside might cause a swift transition if the offending team can be compelled to return the mall timeously but it feels almost like an over-punishment. The same goes for using the ball too slowly, but without the swift transition. Allowing teams to pass back into their own half before going for a 50-22 almost has the feel of encouraging players to look for that particular kicking option more. At least we need no longer be so fussy about taking kicks from the mark, yet now we are able to tap the ball up to a metre either side, it will take around one match to notice how far those boundaries are pushed by impish scrum-halves seeking a dart.
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The most useful of the trials announced this week was that once ‘use it’ has been called, no more players can join the ruck. That’s the caterpillar done for and good riddance. But to our coaching mind it’s also a catalyst for two things: either a complete depowerment of the ruck from the defensive point of view, with no contest and defence spread across the field, or that the defenders involved in the ruck instantly make a nuisance of themselves by counter-rucking. The latter might improve the spectacle and jeopardy for the scrum-half, but probably won’t make things faster. The former means less space, rendering more ball largely useless.
But still the question persists: why? We get it, nothing is perfect, ever. Yet at what point do we also decide to sit back for a while and appreciate what we’ve got? We all love a fast game, but not all of them need to be fast.
England’s year?
After a long, long year already, the Six Nations is finally upon us again. And it might be time for England to buck an intriguing trend. For it is fully 63 years since England won a Nations tournament, be it Six or Five, in the season after a Lions tour. Moreover, in the professional era post-Lions tournaments, France have been generally rampant, with five titles and four Grand Slams. Ireland have been the only other tournament winners in such tournaments.
Relevant? Certainly in the professional era it is possible. The French get a summer off while the cream of the home nations is marched all over South Africa and hey presto! France are fresher the year after. If Ireland’s inclusion in that trend mocks it slightly, never forget how much squad management the IRFU has indulged in over the last 20 years.
The same procedure as every four years then? Possible. France’s squad is hardly not a championship contender. Ireland’s looks a little more transitional and while Scotland are overdue a surprise season, doubt persists over both the mental toughness and depth in the Scotland set-up. Unless England are opposite them of course. Italy could have a best-ever season, but that does not make the Azzurri title contenders. Goodness knows what to expect from Wales.
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But a crucial difference for England this year might be in the make-up of the domestic scene. Fewer Prem or European fixtures compared to pre-pandemic tournaments are clearly a boon; the Prem continues to thrive as a result. If England have struggled in the past because of being knackered, is this a year in which freshness makes a difference?
Not only would Steve Borthwick’s men have to overcome that hoodoo, but also that little one about winning in Paris for the first time in a decade and at Murrayfield for the second.
But England have been breaking new ground over the past 12 months. The All Blacks were seen off with England winning the final hour of that match 33-7. Argentina couldn’t find a comeback to England’s fast start, ensuring England’s first unbeaten four-Test November in a decade.
There is depth and talent all over the place, blends of youth and experience, at least two or three game-changing talents beyond the limelight-hogging Henry Pollock, and little doubt that the bulk of the current squad will travel to Australia in 2027. They look settled, happy and vibrant in attack under Lee Blackett.
And for those reasons, Loose Pass is backing England to defy the stats and claim a Grand Slam this year, after an epic finale in Paris. But this year’s edition looks to be one to enjoy for all.
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