What’s the (bonus) Point
I was just wondering if there is anyone else out there who hates rugby’s daft bonus point system. There is no other sport out there that rewards teams on how close they came or how entertaining they have been at the expense of results over a season. Even the old, subjective ‘artistic merit’ points awarded in ice skating seem sensible in comparison.
Wherever you look rugby is rife with sporting injustice. At the top of England’s premier league Leicester have home field advantage over Saracens despite having a worse record (won 15 lost 6 against won 16 lost 5) over the course of the season. At the bottom Newcastle face relegation despite having lost two fewer games than Wasps.
The same sort of nonsense is taking place in the Super 15. The Stormers have the best record of any team (only one loss) but are fourth in the table because they only have one bonus point. The Sharks are a point ahead of the Highlanders despite a record of won 6 lost 5 against won 7 and lost 4.
It probably does not behove the Highlanders to complain too much, however, because it was new Zealand who came up with this piffle in the first place. As a means of rewarding attacking rugby it was introduced to the NPC in 1995 and then into the Super 12 in 1996. Professionalism has much to answer for.
Taken ad absurdum, a team could lose 20-125 and earn themselves a four try bonus point, an equal reward to a team that loses 9-7 to a last minute penalty goal from a dodgy referee. But rugby’s officials are so infatuated with the need to entertain, at whatever the cost to the integrity of the game, that the bonus point system even exists at the World Cup.
I much prefer the system used in football’s Champions League. There are no extra points for scoring five or more goals. It’s an unfair measure because one team could potentially cash in at the end of the group stages against another side with nothing to play for. Instead, in the event of two teams finishing on an equal number of points, the fixtures between those teams are used as the first tiebreaker.
How good would that be at the Rugby World Cup. It would also give the minnows more of a chance. With a weaker depth of playing squad and a more taxing schedule due to TV demands, the lower ranked countries have almost no chance of competing for bonus points against the first tier nations.
But if the Champions League method had been used at the previous World Cup then Tonga’s match against France would have had a real edge and the Pacific Islanders would have knocked out the eventual finalists in the pool stages.
Instead this grotesque bonus point system has even infiltrated lower leagues that should be all about the players and not the spectators. Despite the Latin derivation there is nothing good about the bonus point.
Mercifully the Six Nations remains aloof from this inequable frippery. Ponder this – if the 2002 Six Nations had awarded bonus points then England would have won the Championship, even though France won the Grand Slam that year. Even if the points had been upped to four for a win, France and England would have both finished on 21 and England would have claimed the title on points difference.
The Americans are world champions at wringing out the last bit of entertainment value from a sport, but even they have yet to start awarding bonus points to the team with the best set of cheerleaders. They still place an old fashioned value on how many times a team wins and how many times a team loses. There’s something to be said for it.
Posted under News & Opinions
about 1 year ago
2002 Six nations is the best example of justification you can come up with in the NH??? … what’s that noise I hear? Oh yes, Mark Reason scrapping the bottom of that barrel. Oh by the way I would much prefer Leicester rewarded for their dynamic play than Saracens stick it up the jumper tactics
about 1 year ago
Anyone got any good stats out there which can provide evidence of whether the bonus point system has increased the average number of tries in games/competitions since its introduction. Afterall this is what it was brought in to achieve; so looking at these stats would be the only assessment of whether on balance the system is worth some of anomalies/injustices it throws up.
about 1 year ago
Have to agree with Lex. As all good journalists he is playing devils advocate in order to elicit a response. If one looks back at the justifications for going to present system I think you will see the reasons why and in the context of the drab product of the time. The more we force coaches to play an expansive, adventurous game the better it is for the fans, and more importantly, the next generation of fans. I’m sure we will further refine the game as more and more kickers can easily slot the ball over from 60yds. No one wants to see a game of penalty kicking, so expect more transgressions to become free kicks and not penalties.
about 1 year ago
Sounds very much like a front row forward speaking. As a Leicester fan it was amazing to hear a certain commentator praise the open expansive play by us at the weekend, is that how bad Saracens have got. Sorry but the RFU introduced the play offs, without that Wasps wouldnt have a trophy? and they introduced bonus point system, why is it that the 1st time Leicester have gained by this system we hear complaints. Does Lex want to watch tryless kicking games, would work well for Saracens eh! Comments about clueless referees isnt in the spirit of the game either, ever tried to referee a match? All for progress like the bonus point system, like to see tries, good day out at Twickenham, every year! long may it stay!!!
about 1 year ago
I love the bonus point system. It makes games far more interesrting when teams try hard for that extra try or to close the points gap rather than resting on their laurals or giving up. I can’t understand why League and AFL haven’t adopted it.
about 1 year ago
Why, for crying out loud, is a bonus point given for losing by 7 or less? Is it given for trying hard or what! I don’t agree with the 4 try bonus point but I can see what the logic was but why a point for losing!
about 1 year ago
Just a word on the S15. The Australian administrators rule the roost in SANZAR. We’ll play ball if you do but remember we own the ball. Our SA administrators are not the sharpest tools in the shed admittedly. Despite anyone with half a rugby brain telling them this format cannot work they soldiered on. The Brumbies have lost 4 and have 39 points are ahead of the Stormers who have lost 1 & and are on 45 points. Go figure!
about 1 year ago
Has mark reason ever got a positive word to say about anything? He’s pushing Stuart Barnes for the most negative about England and english. lighten up matey
about 1 year ago
John. Stormers lie beneath Brumbies because Bulls occupy #1 spot in SA conference. The conference system is another debate altogether.
about 1 year ago
Mark, you obviously haven’t watched many NFL games in the 4th quarter when the both teams are simply playing out the string. Or maybe you were sleeping, as I often am. The bonus point system makes matches much more interesting, motivating both sides to take risks they otherwise wouldn’t.
about 1 year ago
Bonus points means dinamic, expansive, atractiv games. We want rugby with many tries. Not sleeping games as in many football champions league games, with teams only playing defence. Bonus points plus play offs seems to me the best system.
about 1 year ago
typical reasoning Mark!! Blame NZ/Aus or SA as you brits always seem to do when it comes around to anything outside the norm. Mate the name of the game when you are in professional sports is bums on seats – before bonus points rugby was a monumental bore, teams played boring rugby to win boring games – as a player and coach of pre and post bonus points comps, I’ll guarantee teams – both players and management – are more “attack” minded now which is what the spectators, the paying public want to see. yes the Stormers are winning by defence strategies at the moment but they cannot do it in the semis or finals – why? because attacking rugby is foreign to them. All praise to the Reds, the Chiefs, the Bulls, the Crusaders who play the game as it should be played, within the confines of bonus points systems – at the end of the day aren’t we there to see attacking teams play the beautiful game of watch games a la rugby league and gridiron with oversized monsters smashing everything and anything in front of them.?
12 months ago
Off course you should get rewarded for playing enterprise rugby. But one should not get rewarded for losing. For the Stormers? Well Newlands is the wettest place in South Africa. Some idiot thought its a great idea to schedule all their home games at 19h00. Their first game was in natural light. The rest was on a wet Newlands. Not like teams have been scoring 4 tries against them anyways.
12 months ago
til last night spoony – great to see an attacking, bonus point mentality rugby. The Sharks actually made the Stormers start attacking more
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