Former All Black Justin Marshall has ripped into the Highlanders and the wider Super Rugby Pacific competition as the game’s latest trend becomes overbearingly ‘predictable’.
Speaking on SENZ’s The Saturday Session radio show, the 81-Test halfback lamented the state of the game where teams are scoring endlessly from the rolling maul.
Marshall said that the laws of the game restrict defending the maul, so if the attacking team gets it right it is impossible to stop.
“I was actually watching the game last night and I was thinking to myself, how have teams become so inefficient at combating the rolling maul,” he said on SENZ’s The Saturday Session.
“I would love to see a stat for it, but at the moment teams are so positive that if they can get the ball into the sort of 5-10 metre area and get their rolling mauls set, the opposition can’t combat it.”
The Blues and Moana Pasifika both scored plenty of tries from the maul in their two clashes last week, with hooker Kurt Eklund cashing in at the back.
Eklund has become one the Blues most prolific try scorers ever, with a strike rate better than Caleb Clarke and Mark Telea.
Eklund now has the most tries by a hooker for @BluesRugbyTeam overtaking @kevenmealamu
Eklund’s 12 tries coming in 29 games, a strike rate better than Mark Telea (12/30) & Caleb Clarke (12/32)
Also travelling a mere 135 games quicker than Mealamu, who scored 11 from 164 games. https://t.co/wFADS8xtzp
— Rugby Database (@nzrugbydatabase) April 2, 2022
“Hookers are the leading try scorers at the moment, more than outside backs. Andrew Makalio got one last night, Rhys Marshall got two, and I think Kurt Eklund’s one of the Blues’ leading try scorers ever.
“It’s not just against Moana Pasifika. Every single team seems to be going into that zone knowing that the laws of the game or whatever it might be restricts the opposition, if you get really well set, from shutting down a driving maul.
The former Crusader said that the ‘sack’ has gone missing due to laws that protect the jumper too much. The game as a result is ‘predictable’ and ‘horrific thing to watch’.
“No one seems to be sacking the lineouts anymore, so I wonder whether or not they can’t get access to the jumper to sack it because of the laws and the way they’re protected and blocked, but whatever it is, to be honest, it’s pissing me off.
“It’s really predictable rugby. When it gets down to that zone, it’s frustrating to watch a team like Moana Pasifika, who are really competitive right across the board but the opposition score four tries (against them) from rolling mauls, and that’s the game.
“That’s not really playing rugby is it. It’s a horrific thing to watch, because there’s nothing dynamic, nothing entertaining about it.”
