​Ireland hooker Ronan Kelleher on his way to the line, with company, in last weekend’s 42-12 win over Argentina [Getty Images]Back in March, leading Italy by two points and with a penalty just outside their 22m, England captain Maro Itoje pulled rank.”Don’t argue with me, take the three!” he told fly-half Fin Smith. Who duly did.It is an age-old tactical call: kick or twist? Whether to call for the tee, go for the posts and a likely three points, or aim for touch, an attacking line-out and five or, potentially, seven.Chris Robshaw, one of Itoje’s predecessors, was haunted by those decisions.A clutch of them turned out badly under him, most memorably when England chased possible victory, rather than taking on a potentially match-tying kick, as they trailed Wales 28-25 late on in a 2015 Rugby World Cup pool game.Now though, it seems a no-brainer.Across six Nations Championship matches last weekend, teams opted for goal just three times. Instead, the corner called on almost every occasion.The change in mentality reflects shifting probabilities. The line-out odds are no longer so long. There is a run on driving-maul tries across the game.Analysis from stats company Oval Insights comparing the past seven seasons of November Test rugby and the English top flight, show that mauls are delivering tries more consistently than at any point since they began collecting the metric.So what’s changed?Partly the laws.Rugby’s regulations were tweaked in the summer, so that defending players can no longer ‘swim’ up the side of the maul. Previously, so long as they maintained their bind, individuals could work their way round, pulling apart the attacking team’s momentum and threatening to steal possession.Now, once defenders are past the ball and no longer in a position to push, they have to detach and rejoin from behind the back foot.England forward Alex Coles says the change has made the set-piece stakes higher and more immediate.”The maul now is so much about who wins that first second,” he told BBC Sport.”Under the old laws, there was more of a chance for a defence to try to rescue and recover the situation.”Now, essentially, that opportunity to swarm up the side and make it a mess from behind has gone.”The law change hasn’t completely changed it, but it has shifted the balance towards the attack.”As the maul has become a more reliable route to the line, more attack coaches are heading that way.Maul tries are more than twice as common in this November window than the last, with 0.67 per game compared to 0.3 in 2025.The story in the Prem is similar. There have been 0.42 per game this season, compared to 0.23 over the opening five rounds of last.But defence coaches adapt too.”I’d be interested to know the stats, but I feel like there’s more aerial competition now,” says Coles.”Teams are going harder after that because if you can win the ball back at source, it makes such a difference.”Coles will bring a jumping option to the back row this Saturday when England play