Inside Line: Three try-scoring trends from a fascinating Premiership weekend

Just before the league’s first break for European competition, this weekend of Premiership fixtures felt significant.

Six matches, from a West Country derby on Friday evening to a meeting between runaway leaders and reigning champions on Sunday afternoon at Welford Road, brought plenty to ponder. It is safe to suggest that this campaign will continue to captivate us over the ensuing six months or so.

Round 10 also produced 36 tries. Here is the spread of how each of these attacks began. The lineout remains a versatile and productive platform. A 7-1 split of kick-returns against recovered box-kicks might just hint that teams are being rewarded for counter-attacking ambition as well:

Here is a look at three scoring trends in more detail.

Kick to score

Even before the introduction of the 50:22 law, back-field defence had been put under the microscope by clever use of the boot. Over this weekend, six tries featured a kick on the scoring phase – but most of these were different in their conception. The first was this effort, finished by Chris Harris:

It looks extremely simple, but the defence is manipulated nicely. From a scrum on the edge of the Bristol Bears 22, Gloucester initiate their go-to strike-play. Mark Atkinson stands at first-receiver with fellow centre Chris Harris running flat and fly-half Adam Hastings fading behind his centres towards full-back Lloyd Evans and left wing Ollie Thorley.

There are more layers. The Gloucester runners towards the near touchline coax up Bristol full-back Charles Piutau to guard Toby Fricker’s outside. Additionally, Louis Rees-Zammit is positioned beyond the scrum. That keeps Henry Purdy guarding that threat.

Because Harry Randall makes towards Atkinson, with Piutau pressing and Purdy staying put, there is a huge pocket of space in behind. Normally, Atkinson would carry himself or pass to one of Harris or Hastings. Now, there is an inviting pocket to aim a grubber into:

The strike splits the line. Watch this carefully and you will see Purdy take two or three steps towards Rees-Zammit before readjusting and sprinting, in vain, to cover the kick through. This is an endorsement of Gloucester’s deception:

Two days later, Harry Potter scored a try for Leicester Tigers that summed up the Steve Borthwick era. It arrives at the end of an unbroken sequence from the second-half restart that lasts two minutes and 40 seconds:

Ben Youngs’ clip, with the outside of his right boot, is superb. Prior to that, the vision of George Ford to isolate Louis Lynagh is sharp as well. Potter’s work-rate deserves immense credit, too.

Here is a map of his movements between the restart and his try, showing his position at the start of each phase (mapped by the numbers, with ‘1’ being the restart):

Over that two minutes and 40 seconds, he shuttles up and down his flank. Potter makes one tackle to complete a kick-chase (4) and organises the defensive line as Harlequins probe his flank. At 13, Potter catches a sliced box-kick from Danny Care.

Youngs then hooks a left-footed box-kick, which Tyrone Green returns. Ford then drives the ball towards the opposite side of the field. In the absence of Marcus Smith, who was in the sin bin, André Esterhuizen clears to Ford.

Look at Potter abandon his wing to support the counter:

His industry is rewarded as Leicester pick off Harlequins’ back-field coverage clinically.

Elsewhere around the country, Callum Sheedy found Purdy, his Bristol team-mate, with a Kingsholm kick-pass and Joe Simmonds spied Saracens scrum-half Aled Davies defending on the wing at Sandy Park. Tom O’Flaherty benefitted. George Furbank dinked across to Courtnall Skosan as Northampton thumped Bath.

Louis Lynagh’s solo score set up a tense finish in the East Midlands, but it is important to recognise the build-up. Smith’s sharp cut-out pass to Green allows Lynagh to outflank Nemani Nadolo, which in turn drags up Freddie Steward and presents space in behind:

When it comes to try-scoring kicks, there is usually a chain reaction taking place.

Finding fast men

London Irish completed 193 passes on the way to beating Newcastle Falcons 43-21 and consolidating themselves in seventh place. Under Declan Kidney and Les Kiss, their phase-play is looking varied and slick.

Four of the Exiles’ six tries came from wings, Ollie Hassell-Collins bagging a hat-trick and Kyle Rowe scampering through here:

Rowe steps up at first-receiver here, and spies two Newcastle props close to the ruck:

Much like Northampton and Wasps, Irish prefer to exert pressure by keeping the ball in hand, trusting their skills and attacking structure to overwhelm opponents. They can also strike quickly.

Hassell-Collins’ third try arrives shortly after this Newcastle scrum:

Irish pounce on an errant offload towards the near touchline and, following another run from Rowe, spread the ball in-field. Their organisation is rapid.

A pod of Ollie Hoskins, Will Goodrick-Clarke and Steve Mafi hold the middle with full-back Tom Parton providing an outlet to first-receiver Paddy Jackson. Agustin Creevy is holding width with Hassell-Collins:

An outside arc from Parton and a nonchalant flick from Creevy lays on the try:

Eight tries around the league came from turnovers. Adam Radwan’s consolation in Brentford showcased his remarkable acceleration:

Worcester Warriors recruit Duhan van der Merwe punished two lapses from Wasps. Here, he rampages clear before linking up with Gareth Simpson:

Later on, he gathered an errant pass, kept the ball and scored himself.

This try from Northampton, finished by Juarno Augustus but made by the distribution of Furbank and the pace of Fraser Dingwall, comes from a poor box-kick from Semesa Rokoduguni:

Feeding speed as quickly as possible often works out well.

Close-range muscle

Efficiency and brawn will never go out of fashion in rugby union. Six pick-and-go tries marked the weekend, with four more successful driving lineouts – including a penalty try.

Gloucester have made the maul into a weapon under George Skivington, Bath eked out three close-range tries and Wasps used tight power as well as more expansive play in their Sixways.

The most rousing try in this section came in Devon, though. Luke Cowan-Dickie registers it:

Sam Simmonds and Dave Ewers are instrumental. They begin at either end of the lineout, Simmonds as a jumper and Ewers as a potential lifter:

Jannes Kirsten, who has just replaced Don Armand to bolster Exeter’s pack, gathers the throw. By this time, Simmonds and Ewers are both in position ready to establish the maul. Jonny Hill and Sam Nixon are also important:

This angle shows how Hill drives into the mass of bodies. Simmonds, Ewers, Nixon and Cowan-Dickie pivot around that indent, using Hill almost like a gatepost, with centre Ian Whitten adding his weight as they break off:

Cowan-Dickie is propelled through and over the line to spark celebrations.

On what seemed like a pivotal weekend of Premiership action, this felt like a big moment. Time, and tries, will tell.

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