Luke Fitzgerald, in his Left-Wing Podcast, has made a call for the 5-3 bench split, calling for coaches to recognise the importance that a backline substitute can have on the game late in the match.
Fitzgerald is a former Leinster, Ireland and Lions winger who has spoken out against the ‘Bomb Squad’, arguing for the impact that backs can have on the remainder of the game.
The history of the 6-2 bench
The 6-2 bench came to the attention of the rugby world due to the tactics of Rassie Erasmus and South Africa. He famously on multiple occasions brought a full quota of subs on at once.
When speaking about the Springboks, Fitzgerald commented, “I think they’re a bit of an anomaly” due to the quality they have in the forwards.
On one occasion, they even played with seven forwards on the bench and were able to replace the entire pack bar one at once.
The disadvantages of a 6-2 bench
The 6-2 bench works well when all goes to plan. The bench requires for three front row players, meaning that this would give three forward substitutions to cover the back five in the pack and two subs to cover the seven players in the backline.
The perfect example of how the 6-2 bench can hamper a team came in the England vs Scotland game in the 2026 Six Nations. During the game, Henry Arundell, the England winger, was given two yellow cards, making it a total of 30 minutes without a winger. When the team were able to bring on a back after the 20-minute red card, they were left with only two back options on the bench. Ben Spencer, a scrum-half and Fin Smith, who is an out-and-out 10. This left the team behind on the scoreboard and shuffling players around the field to try and cover the wing position that was left vacant but the red card.
Backs as an attacking tool
Fitzgerald hinted that a back substitute can have more of an impact on the tactics of the game, where forwards subs are used more to respond to fatigue.
Leinster have shown great success with their three backs on the bench before. They will have a back-up scrum half, utility back who can play elsewhere like Ciaran Frawley and a centre such as Robbie Henshaw or Jamie Osborne.
