The driving-maul try machine - why rugby's steamroller gained traction
Summary
Rugby teams are choosing attacking line-outs more often than penalty kicks as driving mauls produce tries at higher rates. A summer law change that limits defenders’ ability to move around the side of a maul has helped shift the balance toward attacking teams, though defences are adapting.Key Facts
- Teams chose to kick for goal three times across six Nations Championship matches last weekend.
- Driving mauls produced 0.67 tries per game in the current November international window, compared with 0.3 per game in the 2025 window.
- In the Premiership, mauls produced 0.42 tries per game this season, compared with 0.23 per game over the first five rounds of last season.
- A summer law change requires defenders who move past the ball and cannot push to detach and rejoin the maul from behind the back foot.
- England forward Alex Coles said the new rules make the first second of a maul more important.
- Defences may counter mauls by competing for the ball in the air or by using speed and physicality to drive the attacking team backward.
- The threat of a driving-maul try can draw defenders together and create space on the opposite wing.
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