So with one round to go, how do people feel the bonus point system has affected the 6N's?
My view, it has had a limited impact and personally it hasn't changed anything. Only 2 previous tournaments would have changed with bonus points and this year England would still have won by this round without them.
England 8
Ireland 4
Wales 4 (Wales would move above on PD)
France 4
Scotland 4
Italy 0
However one area where it could have been more exciting was if Scotland had beaten England (let's assume by 8 without bonus, for maximum excitement). The table would have looked like this and no bonus points comparison:
Scotland 13 (top with PD) -----> Scotland 6
England 13 -----> England 6
Ireland 10 -----> Ireland 4
France 10 -----> Wales 4 (again above with PD)
Wales 9 -----> France 4
Italy 0 -----> Italy 0 (Sorry about this Italian fans)
Now in both scenario's any of 5 teams can win. However with the old system, Scotland and England would have to lose, as a draw would take them to 7. So unless Wales or France put on 50-60+ with Ireland just winning, Ireland would have this one points difference. With the new system though, bonus points throw that all into the air. England and Scotland could finish with 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18 points. Ireland and France could get to 15 each and Wales could get to 14. Wales still have it hard as they would need a BP with and both Scotland and England to lose by more than 8, so that means Ireland would win and so be on 14 too, therefore coming down to points difference again.
Personally I feel that looking retrospectively is misleading as because there was no BP system, teams may have played differently and so the results could have changed. In terms of this year, if we had this scenario then what a final weekend it would have been. I feel that based on form Scotland, excluding the England game, would get the BP against Italy in the first though and so it would only have left England in the running needing a BP win and a good points margin. (If Scotland had won yesterday I reckon they would have been champions.) However I think in the future there could be some incredible final weekends based on the potential with BP's. Having said 2015 was exciting for being close without BP's. So overall in terms of the table it has made little difference, but could in future.
Now onto individual games, simply everyone used Italy as a BP win and from the start you felt Wales missing out would cost them and if the table was as above, then it would have.
I think Wales having the stadium roof closed is unfair, because if (stress the if) it encourages more attacking rugby then it gives the 3 or 4 teams playing there when Wales are at home and advantage over teams that play Wales at home. This year England, Wales and Ireland had that chance. Next year Italy, France, Scotland and Wales. Obviously Wales get 2-3 bites at the cherry as well.
Losing bonus points can make games more interesting, with teams who can't win still going for the BP.
Finally the only other game I felt it had an impact was Ireland v Wales, because I felt Ireland kicking to touch and not taking penalties early on was influenced by them thinking about BP's and the England game on the final weekend. Instead of winning the game first and putting pressure on Wales, they made mistakes, put pressure on themselves and lost.
Last point to consider is it unfair with 3 home games and 2 home games for some teams...well yes but that is always the case with or without bonus points, so a moot point and it rotates each year.
So for those who want a quick summary, it has made little difference this year, but I feel it could make more exciting tournaments in future. I'd keep it as I feel it adds something, without losing much if anything other than tradition.
My view, it has had a limited impact and personally it hasn't changed anything. Only 2 previous tournaments would have changed with bonus points and this year England would still have won by this round without them.
England 8
Ireland 4
Wales 4 (Wales would move above on PD)
France 4
Scotland 4
Italy 0
However one area where it could have been more exciting was if Scotland had beaten England (let's assume by 8 without bonus, for maximum excitement). The table would have looked like this and no bonus points comparison:
Scotland 13 (top with PD) -----> Scotland 6
England 13 -----> England 6
Ireland 10 -----> Ireland 4
France 10 -----> Wales 4 (again above with PD)
Wales 9 -----> France 4
Italy 0 -----> Italy 0 (Sorry about this Italian fans)
Now in both scenario's any of 5 teams can win. However with the old system, Scotland and England would have to lose, as a draw would take them to 7. So unless Wales or France put on 50-60+ with Ireland just winning, Ireland would have this one points difference. With the new system though, bonus points throw that all into the air. England and Scotland could finish with 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18 points. Ireland and France could get to 15 each and Wales could get to 14. Wales still have it hard as they would need a BP with and both Scotland and England to lose by more than 8, so that means Ireland would win and so be on 14 too, therefore coming down to points difference again.
Personally I feel that looking retrospectively is misleading as because there was no BP system, teams may have played differently and so the results could have changed. In terms of this year, if we had this scenario then what a final weekend it would have been. I feel that based on form Scotland, excluding the England game, would get the BP against Italy in the first though and so it would only have left England in the running needing a BP win and a good points margin. (If Scotland had won yesterday I reckon they would have been champions.) However I think in the future there could be some incredible final weekends based on the potential with BP's. Having said 2015 was exciting for being close without BP's. So overall in terms of the table it has made little difference, but could in future.
Now onto individual games, simply everyone used Italy as a BP win and from the start you felt Wales missing out would cost them and if the table was as above, then it would have.
I think Wales having the stadium roof closed is unfair, because if (stress the if) it encourages more attacking rugby then it gives the 3 or 4 teams playing there when Wales are at home and advantage over teams that play Wales at home. This year England, Wales and Ireland had that chance. Next year Italy, France, Scotland and Wales. Obviously Wales get 2-3 bites at the cherry as well.
Losing bonus points can make games more interesting, with teams who can't win still going for the BP.
Finally the only other game I felt it had an impact was Ireland v Wales, because I felt Ireland kicking to touch and not taking penalties early on was influenced by them thinking about BP's and the England game on the final weekend. Instead of winning the game first and putting pressure on Wales, they made mistakes, put pressure on themselves and lost.
Last point to consider is it unfair with 3 home games and 2 home games for some teams...well yes but that is always the case with or without bonus points, so a moot point and it rotates each year.
So for those who want a quick summary, it has made little difference this year, but I feel it could make more exciting tournaments in future. I'd keep it as I feel it adds something, without losing much if anything other than tradition.
Last edited:
