The opening weekend of the Premiership season ignited a fierce debate about the nature of the sport, as a record-breaking 52 tries were scored across fewer matches than usual. This unprecedented offensive display led to comparisons with basketball—a sentiment both critical and complimentary regarding the direction of the English club game. However, round two saw that figure dip to 41, suggesting that defensive structures may be recalibrating faster than initially feared. Teams like Sale, which secured a gritty win over Saracens despite Jacques Vermeulen receiving a 20th-minute red card, and Bristol, which relied on defensive steel to beat Northampton, demonstrated that physicality remains at the heart of the game. A fter one weekend of the Prem season the feeling was we had crossed the Rubicon. Eclipsing the previous record for round one despite the fact that fewer matches were played added further weight to the argument – a criticism and a compliment – that the English club game is creeping closer towards a form of basketball, a remarkable 52 tries.
Exeter’s director of rugby, Rob Baxter, argues that rugby is inherently cyclical, with attacking and defensive trends shifting over time. This view is shared by Courtney Lawes, back in the Premiership with Sale after a two-year stint in France. Lawes notes that while high-scoring, open games are entertaining, the eventual league champion may well be the side that best balances attack with a tightening defense. Lawes remarked, “A lot of tries, 40 points, 30 points each way, that’s quite interesting. It’ll be interesting this season. I understand why the attacking game is important, but if you can equally have a good defense, then you’re going to win more games than the boys that are only interested in attack.” So perhaps the shark has not been jumped just yet and defence may not be optional after all. That’s a pretty open game, isn’t it, when you’ve both got 50 or 40 points on the board. Two rounds is not enough to draw conclusions.
Northampton’s Phil Dowson pushed back against the narrative that defenders have simply lost their edge. He pointed to his team’s contest with Bristol, which despite seeing 10 tries scored, was far from the simple exhibition some might expect. Dowson compared the fluctuation between offensive and defensive dominance to the NFL, noting that eras of high-scoring games often prompt a reaction that brings defenses back to the forefront. He questioned what audiences truly want, contrasting the current 48-32 scorelines with the more tactical, low-scoring affairs of the past that frequently drew criticism from spectators. Certainly compared with seasons of yesteryear, but equally giving a sense that defences had their day in some cases, a sizeable number.
Leicester’s Geoff Parling echoed the sentiment that try counts do not necessarily correlate with the quality of a match. He noted that while offensive rugby is a positive development, a 9-8 scoreline can still represent a beautiful, gladiatorial contest. The current landscape is influenced by multiple factors, including the absence of relegation, a collective effort to improve the entertainment product, and evolving refereeing interpretations. These changes are partly tied to the upcoming World Cup, with England head coach Steve Borthwick instructing officials to adjust specific law interpretations to better prepare English players for the international breakdown intensity expected in Australia next year.
Data from Oval Insights indicates a slight increase in officiating focus, with 15 penalties for holding on in the first round rising to 18 in the second. While these numbers are not drastic, they reflect an ongoing effort to sharpen the game’s competitive elements. Dowson acknowledged the relentless nature of this work, stating, “We try to correct [the breakdown] every day, every minute of the game, all the time because that’s the game. I don’t know how many lineouts, between 12 and 15, I don’t know how many scrums, but 200 breakdowns.” While it remains too early to determine if Borthwick’s influence will yield results, the second round provided a more balanced look at the game than the initial week suggested.
