Premiership’s policy to attack is welcome surprise for Tom Marshall

Gloucester’s Kiwi full-back Tom Marshall admits he has been pleasantly surprised by the attacking intent he has witnessed in Premiership rugby since his high profile move from Super Rugby hot-shots Waikato Chiefs last summer.
From a low point of just 3.23 tries-per-game in season 2009-10, a Rugby Paper survey reveals the number of tries in England‘s top-flight has rocketed to a point where, at 4.46 tries-per-match, it eclipses the Pro 12 and Top 14 in entertainment.
With no London Welsh-style whipping boys, there have been fewer tries than last term, but the graph is curving upwards and Marshall believes more teams are willing to have a go.
Marshall, who is beginning to make his mark following knee surgery, told TRP: “The Premiership’s a real good comp. The weather hasn’t been great, but there are good teams that want to play rugby and have a crack.
“Ground conditions have been tough but that hasn’t stopped us and others chucking the ball about and we’ve got that intent to play.
“At Gloucester we’ve spoken about playing with tempo and having a mindset to attack, and that’s reflected elsewhere. It’s a surprise that Premiership try-scoring is as high as it is, but it’s a good surprise nonetheless.”
Marshall, 25, is keen to impress after a frustrating spell on the sidelines and makes no bones about his ambition to represent England, for whom he qualifies by dint of his grandmother.
Having seen his hopes of representing New Zealand recede, he explained: “I had a long-term goal about cracking into the All Blacks within a timeframe, but that didn’t happen and I was aware of my English ancestry.
“That enabled me to come here and, being eligible for England, I’m aiming to give it a decent crack.
“It was tough sitting on the sideline for six months, but I’m back out there now and enjoying it. If I can play well in our last two games and get a decent pre-season behind me, I can attack next season with vigour.”
While try-scoring has risen markedly, Harlequins attack coach Mark Mapletoft urges an urgent review of how offsides, breakdowns and scrums are officiated if entertainment standards are to improve further.
The competition still lags behind Super Rugby in terms of five-pointers and Mapletoft believes sides in possession of the ball are not given a fair chance to gain their due reward.
He told The Rugby Paper: “Southern Hemisphere refereeing is geared around rewarding the team with the ball, Northern Hemisphere refereeing is not.
“We give far too much credence to teams without the ball and get all this hyperbole about how it has to be a fair contest, but teams can defend for 10, 15 or 20 phases and somehow not give a penalty away, which considering most teams are offside at every breakdown is quite remarkable.
“If you pulled up every technical offence you wouldn’t have much of a spectacle whether you refereed in favour of attack or defence, but there are tactical nuances, such as offsides, that are never picked up which contribute to turnovers because of the pressure defences are allowed to apply.
“In our competition there are a number of sides that defend with aggressive line-speed, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere you don’t get that as much, so it is important our officials referee offsides and the breakdown better.”
Mapletoft also believes re-set scrums in the North is still an area of concern, adding: “If there was less emphasis on technical penalties at the scrum, sides would have more chances to play.
“The way we view scrums in the Northern Hemisphere is to play for penalties and it takes up far too much time. A set-piece connoisseur might think differently but if we want more try-scoring that has to change.”
NEALE HARVEY