IS IT TIME to abandon, temporarily, the current Six Nations system? That is the key question for the growing appeal of the sport. No panic. But there is a problem. Once the opposition in a match reaches 50 points, you really are in a mess. Anything above that is a fearsome hammering and an eminently forgettable match. So how do we compute defeats in which the opposition scores 90, and 88.
The 90 came as the biggest humiliation in the history of Gloucester rugby club, when their men’s team conceded that much while barely putting up any sort of contest against Northampton Saints towards the end of the Gallagher Premiership season.
And in many ways it was equally chilling when the Red Roses beat Ireland 88-10 in the Women’s Six Nations and again raised the debate about one-sided games and different standards. There were two longish periods in that game in which England scored every time they won possession.
