What have we learned from the Six Nations so far?

Coach Nick Mallett tells Hugh Godwin why attacking negativity, poor refereeing and a fondness for scrum penalties is casting European rugby adrift

Billy Vunipola's ball carrying has been a strong feature of the tournament (Getty)

There is plenty to look forward to in the two remaining weekends of the Six Nations Championship; not least the inimitable noise and colour of an England v Wales match at Twickenham this Saturday, with a Grand Slam tantalisingly within reach of the home team. But the inescapable tale of the opening three rounds of matches has been a depressing inability to emulate the vibrant play of the southern hemisphere sides who made up the four semi-finalists in last autumn’s World Cup.

England, Wales, Ireland and France will be tested against those world leaders soon enough when they go on tour this June to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina respectively. So what has been going on in the Six Nations, and who is best placed to raise themselves from the mire?

For a southern hemisphere view with a northern perspective, we consulted Nick Mallett, who coached Italy in the Six Nations from 2008 to 2011, and his home country South Africa before that. Mallett was in Dublin this week as the coaches’ representative on World Rugby’s high-powered playing committee, and he also works with the Accenture analysis team who produce the Six Nations’ official match data. Several areas came under discussion:

Conservative attack

“Last weekend in the Six Nations, all three teams with the most possession and territory lost their matches, and that would be very unusual in New Zealand and Australia,” said Mallett. “It’s based around how conservatively the northern hemisphere teams play when they get into the attack zone.

“There is a narrowness and a lack of variety. They are terrified of losing the advantage-line battle so it’s a pick-and-go philosophy. You can take the ball through 17 phases and it counts as possession, but what you have done with that possession is basically nothing.

“Australia and New Zealand and Argentina won’t close it down five metres from the opposition line – they will say, ‘where is the space?’ New Zealand may do two or three pick-and-drives but the aim is to suck the defence in tighter and create space out wide, with play among the backs, or a grubber kick or a cross-kick – to exploit any possibility of scoring a try.”

Scrum-halves too dominant

When France had a 14-minute spell on the Wales goal-line without a score in the dire match in Cardiff nine days ago, the visiting scrum-half Maxime Machenaud dawdled at rucks, calling up pods of forwards for one battering-ram assault after another. At times this actually forced French backwards over the gain-line – or maybe we should rename it the Machenaud Line.

The reliance on the scrum-half as decision-maker frustrates Mallett, who knows the Gallic mindset well from his time playing in France and coaching Stade Français.

“The No 9 has no hope of seeing where the space is outside,” said Mallett. “In Australia and New Zealand, the fly-half controls the scrum-half and the centre controls the fly-half, so information is passed from outside inwards. With the All Blacks, Dan Carter [at fly-half] will tell Aaron Smith, ‘you give me this ball, it’s a front-foot ball’, and there’s a call that cancels any pass to any forward, because the outside-centre has seen the space to attack.

“If that scrum-half doesn’t pass to the 10, he’ll be lucky to play again the next weekend. The 10 has got to get his hands on the ball. You can then play the forwards off him – not off the nine, as you see in the northern hemisphere, particularly when they reach the opposition 22.”

Referees below par

The Six Nations referees, appointed in some cases to gain experience, have drawn heavy criticism, and Mallett concurs. “The difference for the World Cup was it was all done on merit, the referees had time together, and it was all about promoting space and policing negative play,” he said. “The assistant tackler was taken away from the ball for quick presentation.

“In the Six Nations, it seems the referees are refereeing like their local club games, like marathons instead of the sprint that a Test match should be.”

Playing for penalties at scrums

Feeding into the refereeing frustration is the mess at many scrums. If England’s top referee Wayne Barnes pleaded “let’s go” to the Wales and France packs once, he did it a thousand times.

“Teams are looking to eke penalties out of scrums and driving mauls, and the referees get pulled into refereeing static rugby,” said Mallett.

“That is not what the scrum is there for. It is supposed to be a restart. But it has become a means of getting a penalty so you exit your territory and keep the ball at a line-out, or you score points.

“I believe the solution is to take the penalty sanction away from the scrum, and give a free-kick for technical offences instead. That would bring it into line with the line-out and kick-off.”

Rugby union coach Nick Mallett

Positive offloads

“England and Wales play with structure and organisation,” said Mallett, “and out of that you can encourage offloading. The French players are playing off the cuff after two or three phases, passing to team-mates in a worse position than themselves.

“To offload sideways or backwards is not what we’re looking for. You are not going to break down an organised defence like that, not nowadays. France might have done it in the 1970s, but not in 2016. Offloading with no forward momentum is much worse than taking the tackle.”

Signs of hope

“England have got a ball-carrying No 8 in Billy Vunipola who has been the player of the tournament for me,” Mallett said.

“They may have had only 43 per cent possession against Ireland but they got that forward momentum basically through Vunipola, by attacking space and taking their tries well in the second half.

“Scotland scored two great tries in Italy by using the width of the field. They took a risk to create an opportunity and this is the key.

“England have strength in depth and if Manu Tuilagi plays at inside-centre, and they can develop him like Ma’a Nonu, he will be incredibly effective.”