Bonus point structure would give league a running start

‘Slow starts are accepted in the Six Nations,” wrote Gordon D’Arcy in The Irish Times as he backed the introduction of rugby’s bonus points system to the competition.

“It’s the only major sporting tournament I can think of where you go in cold.”

The Allianz Leagues wouldn’t, understandably, factor on D’Arcy’s radar in that regard but it’s not just the best of rugby’s northern hemisphere who are asked to commence from a standing start in early February, or in Gaelic football’s case this year, late January.