Driving mauls surge after summer law tweak as teams opt for corner in Six Nations
Across Six Nations Championship matches last weekend, teams chose to kick for goal on only three occasions and instead repeatedly called for the corner and an attacking line-out, a shift that coincides with a rise in driving-maul tries.
The choice between taking three points or aiming for a line-out and a pushover try has been a long-standing tactical dilemma, illustrated by an incident in March when England captain Maro Itoje told fly-half Fin Smith, "Don't argue with me, take the three!" teams and coaches are now frequently favouring the latter option. Analysis from stats company Oval Insights comparing the past seven seasons of November Test rugby and the English top flight shows mauls are generating tries more consistently than at any point since the metric began being collected.
Rugby’s regulations were adjusted in the summer to prevent defending players from ‘swimming’ up the side of the maul; previously individuals could work round while maintaining their bind, but under the revised wording, "once defenders are past the ball and no longer in a position to push, they have to detach and rejoin from behind the back foot." England forward Alex Coles described the practical effect: "The maul now is so much about who wins that first second," he told BBC Sport.
Coles said the old laws offered defenders more opportunity to disrupt the maul: "Under the old laws, there was more of a chance for a defence to try to rescue and recover the situation. Now, essentially, that opportunity to swarm up the side and make it a mess from behind has gone. The law change hasn't completely changed it, but it has shifted the balance towards the attack." That shift has coincided with a notable statistical increase in maul tries: in this November window there have been 0.67 per game compared to 0.3 in 2025, while in the Premiership the rate is 0.42 per game this season versus 0.23 over the opening five rounds of last season.
As attacking coaches have steered teams toward the line-out, defensive coaches have adjusted their priorities. Coles said: "I'd be interested to know the stats, but I feel like there's more aerial competition now. Teams are going harder after that because if you can win the ball back at source, it makes such a difference." He added a tactical note for England's upcoming match: "Coles will bring a jumping option to the back row this Saturday when England play Japan."
If teams do not contest the air, Coles outlined the alternative defensive approach: "You can stay down and try to beat them to that punch with your speed and physicality. If you get them going backwards immediately, then the referees are likely to get the ball moving or you can try and find some seams and break up the setup, make it look a bit more messy through that, rather than swarming around the sides. I think we'll see that balance shift back towards more of a 50-50 as teams evolve."
The increased value of the driving maul is altering wider match dynamics: New Zealand's Beauden Barrett scored his second try in the win over Scotland last weekend when the hosts, "a man down," were caught narrow, and commentators note the premium on discipline has risen because conceding a penalty on halfway hands the opposition a route into the red zone. England previously exploited law changes in 2025 that altered kick-chase contests, and the current England squad combines a long-standing Jamie George–Maro Itoje club-country partnership with head coach Steve Borthwick's set-piece specialism; the Red Roses' driving maul has also been a recognised strength.
England face Japan on Saturday 14 November at 16:40 GMT, with coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website and app, and Pollock starts alongside Ojomoh and Joseph in the selected England side for that Nations Championship fixture.