Why it's raining tries in the Super 14

There were 45 tries scored in the first round of the 2009 Super 14 tournament. This was 20 more than in the first round in 2008. Last week's second round featured 34 tries.

What is going on here? Why is it raining tries, almost six a match?

The weather is a factor. On Friday night at the Sydney Football Stadium, the muggy, oppressive heat tired the players so quickly that a huge number of unforced handling mistakes were made. The heat discouraged players from running the ball, resulting in 21 kicks in the first 21 minutes of the Waratahs match.

Some of the forwards had their arms above their head sucking in air after the first few minutes of play, which had flowed from end to end as the sides traded kicks to all parts of the field. During the match, too, referee Stuart Dickinson was indulgent in allowing long breaks in play for players to recover, presumably.

During those breaks Waratahs great Matt Burke came on to the field with bottles of water and, seemingly, plenty of advice to keep up the kicking game, which the Waratahs did, but generally not too effectively.

Before the season started I mentioned a pet hate to the Waratahs' coaching staff - the kick into the box by the halfback. So when I saw Luke Burgess put in a box kick against the Chiefs, squandering NSW possession, I could hardly restrain myself.

Colin Cooper, whose Hurricanes team has been criticised for its obsessive kicking game, has justified the tactic on the grounds that teams can't afford to give away possession inside their own half under the ELVs' tap-penalty regimen.

The Hurricanes, as they did against NSW, kicked away their first four possessions. This gave the Highlanders the chance to run. Cooper said: "We didn't kick accurately. We kicked too long, or we didn't kick at the right time."

This criticism can be applied to the Waratahs, too. But on Saturday we saw Mark Gerrard virtually win the match for his side with his kicking in general play. His low-trajectory punts into the corner were crucial in setting up strong field positions for the Brumbies against the Crusaders.

The AFL-style drop punt has taken over from the spiral punt as the kick of choice in recent years because of its accuracy . My guess is "the Gerrard" - a throwback to the skid-punting of great fullbacks in the 1920s such as George Nepia - will, or should, become the new method for kickers trying to find field position.

The fact that the ball is in play for more than 46 per cent of the match under the hybrid ELVs is significant - call it the running of the bulls factor. Big forwards, particularly, tire quicker and fitter players can exploit this.

Finally, there is the possibility that the merit referees panel system may be having some unintended consequences. The New Zealand teams have won three matches (including two when they have played another NZ side) so far in the tournament, with one win out of two with a home referee and none out of four with an opposition's local referee.

South African sides have won six matches, including 2/2 with a home referee and 0/1 with the opposition's local. Australian sides have won 5/8, including 4/4 with a home referee and 1/3 with an opposition local referee.

Why do you think so many tries are being scored this year? Post your comments below.

- © Fairfax NZ News