MOMENTS THAT MATTERED: The maul takes over – cheat code or masterclass?

THE MAUL ISN'T BROKEN, DEFENCES ARE

The opening rounds of the Nations Championship sparked a fierce media debate over the surge of driving-maul tries. Critics point fingers at World Rugby’s latest law clarifications, claiming strict officiating makes the set-piece un-defendable when hookers like Jamie George and Joe Heyes cross the line.

That argument misses the mark. The rolling maul is a legitimate, highly technical phase that rewards structural discipline and collective power. Expecting rule changes because teams struggle to stop it is no different from asking to ban backline tries. 

Just as coaching staff invest endless hours into scrum mechanics, packs must take responsibility for building robust mauls that can legally dismantle a drive.

SPRINGBOK POWER AND MARX RECORD

When executed with clinical precision, a rolling maul is devastating. South Africa demonstrated this in Turin against Italy, winning 14 out of 15 line-outs and launching eight mauls. They converted four into tries – averaging 0.5 tries per maul over 80 minutes, the highest conversion rate recorded across a 270-match international tracking sample dating back to 2024.

This forward dominance provided the platform for Malcolm Marx. Crossing for a first-half brace lifted Marx to 31 Test tries in 95 appearances, solidifying his status as the most prolific try-scoring forward in South African history – far eclipsing Schalk Burger’s 16. 

The double makes Marx the all-time leading try-scorer among international front-rowers while pulling him into fifth place overall for South Africa, trailing Bryan Habana (67), Joost van der Westhuizen (38), Makazole Mapimpi (33), and Jaque Fourie (32).

ASHMAN'S RECORD TREBLE AND TACTICAL INFILTRATION

Ewan Ashman’s record-shattering afternoon at Murrayfield proved mauls are far from single-dimensional. Ashman scored a historical treble against the All Blacks, becoming the first Scot to score three tries in a match against New Zealand. His three tries broke the previous Scottish record of two tries shared by Doddie Weir (1995) and Tim Visser (2012), while making Ashman the first player from any nation to score a first-half hat-trick against the All Blacks.

Crucially, two of Ashman’s tries showcased how tier-one sides evolve the drive. Scotland did not rely solely on tight-five grunt; instead, they engineered total-team mass by having backline players sprint directly into the line-out receiver’s hip. By inserting wingers and centres into the driving wedge, Scotland weaponised a 13–15-man unit.

THE CHESS MATCH: USING THE MAUL AS A DECEPTIVE WEAPON

Because defences over-index on stopping heavy forward momentum, the mere threat of a drive opens up sophisticated counter-tactics. Facing Scotland, the All Blacks used the expectation of a maul to catch opponents out of position. Down to 13 men, New Zealand executed an anti-maul tactic by instantly sacking a 5-metre Scottish drive to force a turnover scrum.

Later, replacement hooker Asafo Aumua illustrated set-piece deception by scoring directly off a faked rolling maul. As the Scottish defensive line prepared to absorb a massive drive, Aumua executed a slick dummy peel off the tail of the line-out against defenders who drifted sideways. It proved that as defences adapt to the physics of the drive, the smartest teams use the maul's gravitational pull to engineer space elsewhere.

Far from ruining the spectacle, the modern rolling maul adds far more tactical richness to test rugby than it subtracts. It forces teams to build total cohesion, demands ruthless physical accuracy, and acts as the ultimate test of forward intelligence. Rather than complaining whenever the drive is dominant, the sport should embrace it as one of rugby's most dynamic chess matches – a phase that challenges defenders to adapt while giving attacking sides a foundation for brilliant deception.