After a weekend of Gallagher Premiership action which contained possible the match of the season so far, Northampton Saints’ win over Exeter Chiefs, it is strange that one of the main talking points came from a minute period in Bath’s win over Gloucester where almost nothing happened.
That is because there was a very particular, and much maligned, ‘kick tennis’ battle which saw each side set up ramparts of offside defenders, who were put onside once the catcher advanced five metres. This impasse has been much discussed since, with World Cup winning head coach Jacques Nienaber even giving his take.
For many, kick tennis is seen as the scourge of rugby, and while it must be noted that we seldom see a situation quite like the one at the Rec, Nienaber appears to be in the ‘anti kick tennis’ camp.
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In a post on X, the current Leinster senior coach said that this exchange in the Premiership relates to one of the biggest fallacies in the game currently- that high ball in play time equates to exciting rugby. This was of course a period of over a minute where the ball was in play, but the South African pointed out that there was “nothing happening.”
He wrote: “And this is what people don’t understand…..this episode of rugby is more than 1 min ball in play with nothing happening except the ball flying through the air. People thinking high ball in play = entertaining rugby.”
And this is what people don’t understand…..this episode of rugby is more than 1 min ball in play with nothing happening except the ball flying through the air. People thinking high ball in play = entertaining rugby 🤯
— Jacques Nienaber (@jacnienaber) January 7, 2024
Though situations like this one are rarely seen, there have been calls for law changes to ensure it does not happen again and to encourage more counter-attacking rugby.
The greatest irony is that the smattering of players strewn across the field actually led to an exciting passage of play after a charge down by Bath resulted in the ball falling into the hands of a Gloucester player on their own in the middle of the field, which launched an attack. Nevertheless, this was a passage of play that has not gone down well with much of the rugby community, including one of its leading coaches.
“Refuse to play in your own half” – it’s like watching #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/tAmXXAThpQ
— Brett Igoe (@brettruganalyst) January 7, 2024
