Perhaps inevitably, after an entertainingly open first half, the second period was a more attritional affair.

BBC: Youssouf Mulumbu

The second half was as tight and attritional as the first, dominated by kicking and lost possession.

BBC: Emerging Springboks 13-13 Lions

In appalling conditions, the game developed into an attritional battle in which Leeds were struggling to break down the formidable Melbourne defence.

BBC: Leeds 11-4 Melbourne

Johnson described the game, played in poor weather conditions, as "typical Six Nations, pretty attritional, " and said occasionally England needed to be more clinical.

BBC: Martin Johnson ponders England approach

By that stage the Proteas had 301 on the board and the makings of a comfortable first-innings lead given the attritional nature of the match.

BBC: CHOOSE A SPORT

The remaining fayre was attritional stuff, England doing their utmost to slow the over rate and bowl what they could well wide of the off-stump.

BBC: SPORT | Cricket | South Africa pile up massive lead

The point at Old Trafford had created an air of expectation around St James' Park but that quelled early on by an attritional Bolton side.

BBC: Newcastle 1-0 Bolton

The Iran-Iraq war was one of the most brutal conflicts of the 20th century, an attritional stalemate that took the lives of an estimated one million people.

CNN: Qatar welcomes half the world

Munster's pack, which includes the likes of Paul O'Connell, Jerry Flannery, John Hayes, Denis Leamy, Donncha O'Callaghan and David Wallace, is regarded as one of the most attritional in Europe.

BBC: Gaffney wary of Munster forwards

With the pitch cutting up and the ball very greasy the match had become increasingly attritional as the half wore on but Toulouse sparked back into life immediately after the restart.

BBC: Leicester 14-9 Toulouse