By Keith Jenner
November 19 2003

June 1995: I was in our local club watching England v Australia RWC quarter final. I didn't have any previous interest in Rugby but was forced to watch as everyone else was. I got drawn into the game and when Rob Andrew kicked the winning drop goal the cheers exploded round the club. I was hooked October 1999: Four years later and England are in another world cup quarter final. Hopes are high that they can beat South Africa but they are dashed as a barrage of drop goals dump England out of the cup.


A further four years on and England have progressed to their first World Cup final since 1991. The build up to the final has so far been dominated by claims that England's style of play relies too much on the boot of Jonny Wilkinson. Suggestions have been made that the scoring system should be changed to reward tries over penalties and drop goals. These claims and suggestions are totally misguided and dangerous for the long term prospects of the game of Rugby Union.

The two matches mentioned earlier are still talked about now. The England v Australia game was riveting to watch and was in no way affected as a spectacle by the fact that only 10 of the 47 points scored came from tries. As for the quarter final against South Africa, the viewing enjoyment of this game was adversely affected more by the fact that South Africa ran away with the game at the end than that again there were only two tries scored.

Many potential new Rugby followers will be tuning in on Saturday. The best thing for Rugby will be a close game (preferably won by England). As long as the tension builds through the game then peoples interest will be held, regardless of whether the scores come from tries or penalties/drop goals.

But let's just stop there for a minute and look at some facts. Do England rely on Wilkinsons boot too much, as is claimed by many. Well, lets look at England's record since the beginning of 2002 compared with that of the other finalists, Australia.

Between the beginning of 2002 and the start of the World cup, England played 19 matches (won 17, lost 2). In those games they scored 69 tries, 51 penalties and 9 drop goals. In the same period, Australia played 17 games (won 9, lost 8) and scored 45 tries, 43 penalties and 3 drop goals.

Instantly you can see that England have scored more tries during the period than Australia. In fact, they average almost a try a game more (3.63 compared to 2.65). Admittedly, as England have won more games in the period, you would expect that to be the case, but it should also be the case for penalties and drop goals as well. In fact, the penalties per game is almost the same (England 2.68/Australia 2.53). Drop goals show a rather bigger difference, with Australia averaging one every 5 games, compared to England's one every two.

Overall, tries accounted for 53% of all England's scores during the period (Penalties 40% and Drop Goals 7%), whilst for Australia they made up 49% (47% penalties and 3% drop goals). Perhaps what people really mean to say is “boring Australia”.

During the world cup Australia have moved ahead in the try scoring, averaging 7 tries a game compared to England's 5.83, but this difference is due to Australia being slightly more rampant in their two games against the minnows in their group. Taking these games out, they have scored 7 tries in their remaining 4 games, compared to England's 6 (big deal!).

The main difference during the world cup has been the number of drop goals which England have scored. In the six games played they have scored 7 drop goals, compared to 9 in the previous 19 before the world cup. The number of penalties have been quite even (17 for Australia compared to 19 for England).

I haven't the time or the inclination to expand this to include other teams (and I'm sure you wouldn't thank me for spouting another load of numbers), but I believe that England's record will stand up reasonably well against any other international team. Another source quoted on the message board stated that only New Zealand have a better try scoring record than England over the previous 25 matches.

So, why are England perceived as being boring, and should we care anyway?

Obviously, this has been brought up this week as England have only managed to score one try in their last two games. There were criticisms of the fact that Wales outscored England 3 tries to 1 but still lost. Also, the increase in drop goals at this world cup has highlighted this area.

This is an indication of how England have become a bit smarter in their play. We all remember the six nations disappointments where they didn't appear to be able to adjust to conditions and the way the game was going (remember Murrayfield, probably the last key England game played in bad weather). When they have struggled lately, they have tightened things up and kept the pressure on the opposition by keeping the scoreboard ticking over. That is playing smart and I'm glad we can do it now.

One of the attractions of Rugby Union is the diversity of the play. I have no intention of criticising Rugby League but I, like many others, prefer Union because of the many different parts of the game (Rucks, Mauls, Scrums, Lineouts and, yes, dropgoals). I quickly lose interest in Rugby League matches because there is very little variety. Many of the critics have said that they would like changes as this will increase the running game and we will see more tries. Well, I don't want that thank you very much. I want Rugby Union as it is now. We like to see a few tries being scored, but we also like to see the battle of the forwards and the ability of a team to dig in and slog out a win.

And what is wrong with a drop goal anyway? When watching a rugby match (whether at the Stoop or on the TV) the reaction from the crowd to a drop goal certainly doesn't suggest boredom.

Some people have said that the interest in Rugby Union will dwindle if changes aren't made to allow more tries to be scored. I don't believe that, but even if that was the case then so be it. The average person in the street wants to see a game with a round ball which you aren't allowed to pick up at all. Should we follow that route then, or should we continue to play and watch the game that we love. I know which one I want.

So lets hope that England win on Saturday, however they do it. A few tries will help silence the critics, but another game like last weekend will be just fine for me. As long as it's a game of Rugby Union, not some hybrid made to satisfy people who would rather be watching a different sport anyway.