Bending the Line Some time ago I worked with Backs Coach Andre Bell who would often speak of ‘bending the line’ with his attack. I was always intrigued by this but to be honest never had a full understanding of its use. With defence now often dominating the game, bending the line is being seen by more teams around the world and it has grown from being a simple ‘back door’ pass to one of many variations and options. Teams in the northern hemisphere are showing greater variation than us in the south who still look to carry hard and play off the back of that. Teams like Bristol and Northampton show a real willingness to test the defence at every opportunity. Teams that really rush up hard on defence cannot afford a slight disconnect in their line integrity and creative attacking sides are looking at doing just that by having ‘front door’ and ‘back door’ options but more importantly very active blindside wingers. Running lines and timing are key to success in these plays, al