Parling finds 'beauty' in defence after record Prem try spree
Leicester Tigers head coach Geoff Parling says there is still “beauty” in defensive rugby after the Prem opened with a record flood of tries.
Parling was speaking to BBC Radio Leicester after the first round produced 52 tries, the most on an opening weekend, alongside a record total of points across the five matches, BBC.
Leicester played their full part in the spree. They lost 40-38 at home to Saracens in a 12-try thriller. Each side crossed six times. Tigers wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb scored three of them — a hat-trick — in defeat.
Parling insisted a tight, low-scoring arm-wrestle can be just as good to watch. A game finishing 15-13 can be a great game and a great contest, he said.
It is a timely debate. Attack is flying. Defences are stretched. Fans are getting value, but coaches are seeing tackles missed and systems cracked.
Part of Parling’s argument is about rewards. In the Prem, a team picks up a bonus point — an extra point in the league table — for scoring four or more tries in a match, win or lose.
Leicester took two bonus points from the Saracens defeat. One was for their six tries. The other was a losing bonus point, given for finishing within seven points of the winners.
Newcastle also banked a try bonus point in defeat. They lost 59-26 to Northampton Saints in their opener but still collected the extra point for crossing four times.
Parling said a team beaten by 40 points should not be rewarded just for scoring four tries. He pointed to a different system used in Super Rugby, the southern hemisphere club competition, and in France’s Top 14. There, a team only gets the try bonus if it scores three tries more than its opponent.
What makes this stand out is the balance Parling is asking for. He is not calling for fewer tries. He is calling for stops to mean something too.
Leicester will need both sides of that equation quickly. They scored plenty against Saracens. They also conceded 40 points at home. That is why the coach is talking about defence.
