Record try-glut in round one suggested all-out attack is en vogue, but maybe you can defend well and still concede tries in the modern game? After one weekend of the Prem season the feeling was we had crossed the Rubicon.

A remarkable 52 tries, eclipsing the previous record for round one despite the fact that fewer matches were played added further weight to the argument – a criticism and a compliment – that the English club game is creeping closer towards a form of basketball. Then came round two and 41 tries.

A sizeable number, certainly compared with seasons of yesteryear, but equally giving a sense that defences had their day in some cases. Sale’s gritty victory over Saracens was a dogfight, Leicester’s win over Newcastle wasn’t pretty and while Bristol ran in six tries against Northampton, their success owed everything to defensive steel.

Louis Rees-Zammit of Bristol leaves George Hendy behind to score the Bears’ second try against Northampton on Saturday. Photograph: David Rogers/GettyPrem RugbyIs Prem rugby union turning into basketball? Nailbiters supply case for defenceRecord try-glut in round one suggested all-out attack is en vogue, but maybe you can defend well and still concede tries in the modern game?

00 BSTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleAfter one weekend of the Prem season the feeling was we had crossed the Rubicon.

A remarkable 52 tries, eclipsing the previous record for round one despite the fact that fewer matches were played added further weight to the argument – a criticism and a compliment – that the English club game is creeping closer towards a form of basketball. Then came round two and 41 tries.

A sizeable number, certainly compared with seasons of yesteryear, but equally giving a sense that defences had their day in some cases. Sale’s gritty victory over Saracens was a dogfight, Leicester’s win over Newcastle wasn’t pretty and while Bristol ran in six tries against Northampton, their success owed everything to defensive steel.

So perhaps the shark has not been jumped just yet and defence may not be optional after all. Indeed, there was a consensus in pre-season that rugby is cyclical, trends will come and go and attacking impetus will be en vogue for a time before defences get back on top. “The game ebbs and flows,” said Exeter’s director of rugby, Rob Baxter.

” Courtney Lawes, who has returned to the Prem with Sale after two seasons in France, was of a similar opinion, having watched the English top flight from across the Channel. The manner in which Sale dug in against Saracens, despite losing Jacques Vermeulen to a 20th-minute red card, appears to support his point.

“A lot of tries, 40 points, 30 points each way, that’s quite interesting,” Lawes says. “It’ll be interesting this season. It might be the team that’s got the best defence that actually wins the league. When you’ve both got 50 or 40 points on the board, that’s a pretty open game, isn’t it? So defences have got to tighten up. ” Two rounds is not enough to draw conclusions.

There have already been, and will continue to be, blowouts when teams simply try to outscore opponents. But as the Northampton director of rugby, Phil Dowson, says: “I see a lot of comments around ‘it’s becoming basketball’ but I don’t think there’s any lack of intent in defence.

” Northampton’s defeat at Bristol is a fascinating case because it was far from the exhibition many thought possible given how lethal both attacks can be: yet there were still 10 tries scored.

Perhaps a greater attacking intent, brought about by a number of factors including the absence of relegation, a collective drive to deliver a more entertaining product, refereeing changes and improving pitches, has all meant more tries are scored. Perhaps Bristol can defend remarkably well against Saints and still concede four tries.