Bonus points have been introduced into the 2017 Six Nations Championship for the first time in the history of the tournament or its previous incarnations. The new points' system will be introduced on a trial basis and the reviewed post Championships.
The Six Nations Council announced the change of structure in relation to match and bonus points that will also apply to the Women’s and Under-20s Six Nations Championships too. Under the old tournament rules a team got two points for a win and one for a draw.
Under the new format, the same employed in the Champions Cup and Guinness Pro12 with one caveat, the team that wins the match shall be awarded four points and if the team scores four tries or more then will receive a bonus point, making five in total.
A team that loses the match will not receive any match points but if they score four tries or lose by a margin of seven or less points will earn a bonus point. In the event of a team losing a match but scoring four tries and finishing within seven points of their opponents, they will be awarded two bonus points.
If a game is drawn, each team receives two points apiece and if either, or both, scores four tries in the process then they would earn a bonus point. The only aspect that differentiates the 2017 Six Nations format from the Champions Cup or the Guinness Pro 12 is that a team that wins the Grand Slam in the Six Nations will be awarded a further three match points as a reward.
This essentially is to ensure that a team that wins the Grand Slam will be champions. A team could win all five matches without a bonus point (20) and a team could lose one match but win four games with a bonus point (20). The awarding of the three points for a Grand Slam means rules out such an eventuality.
The reason behind the changes are simply to reward attacking rugby, a positive step for the tournament, the teams that play a positive brand of rugby and improve the spectacle - principally the enjoyment of the supporters. It should also ensure that teams will play to the final whistle to try and grab a losing bonus point or continue to chase the four-try bonus point.
It is a belated recognition of repeated calls to tangibly reward attacking endeavour. Ireland's Pat Whelan, Chairman of the Six Nations said: "We have been looking at the feasibility of a bonus point system for a while and examining what kind of bonus point system would work best, given the unique properties and format of our Championships.
“We needed to ensure that whatever bonus point system we selected would work with the already proven structure of the Championships and would serve to materially improve what is already there. We are happy that the system that we have decided to trial is the one best suited to our Championships and we are delighted to be going ahead with this new development.
“We believe that the initiative will enhance our competitions for fans, teams, broadcasters and all of those for whom the Championship means so much.”
John Feehan, Chief Executive of Six Nations said: "The drama and excitement of the last weekend of the RBS 6 Nations Championship is unique and is, more often than not, driven by a number of teams on equal Championship points all competing for first place on the table. It is important for us to ensure that any bonus point system which is implemented would not, in any way, take away from this unique dynamic.
“At the same time, we are also conscious that we must reward try scoring and an attacking style of play that will deliver more tries and greater rewards for fans and players alike. We are very excited about the potential that this new development will bring to the Championships and we look forward to trailing it next February and March.”
