THE NUT CRACKER

There was a weekend in November last year that did untold damage to the popularity of test rugby. In the Southern Hemisphere Australia and Argentina played out an entirely forgettable draw in the Tri Nations that barely conjured two minutes of creative rugby.

While in the North, the Autumn Nations Cup produced equally awful rugby where all teams booted the ball to the heavens and put all their eggs into the defensive basket. It was a sign of where things had reached – no one wanted to attack with the ball in hand but instead it was kick and tackle, kick and tackle.

It was so bad that former England coach Sir Clive Woodward felt moved to write something in his column for the Daily Mail. “Eddie Jones is right when he says trends in rugby tend to be cyclical — but he is wrong to label the current concerns of many as alarmist and silly.

“This feels very different. The fundamental nature of the game is changing and many diehard rugby stalwarts I speak to are beginning to lose faith. If their appetite is waning, I cannot imagine what new viewers are thinking.

“For the first time I can remember, teams with prime possession no longer want the ball. Teams with sensational runners and counter-attackers have virtually given up doing what they do best.”

Woodward was