Great - but means zilch in terms of whether the average fan finds it entertaining

Very true made all the more brilliant by the fact that night finished 19-0

Sullivan knocking the ball out of Henare's hands in the league decider in 1996

In one CC semi at JJB, Leeds made a break and Albert tackled on one side & as Leeds flung it to the opposite side he tracked the entire width of the pitch to help put the guy in touch.


The cheer from the crowd celebrating the bringing down of an almost certain try scoring break is often as big as celebrating some tries!

I agree completely.

The same game is still being played just with fitter players.

Defences have evolved quite a lot which is what TCM's statistics were attempting to prove. I would say that, certainly over here, defences have evolved faster than the attacking side of the game which is to be expected when teams aren't falling off tackles as easily.

And they don't take any risks for fear of being told off by the coaches.

I think it's a combination of both defence and attack that has improved. Players are fitter which helps in both areas of the game.