Rugby: ITM Cup aims to reduce unnecessary stoppages

A faster game is on the cards for the ITM Cup, but don't expect those scrum feeds to go in any straighter from the halfbacks.

Too many unnecessary stoppages is a bugbear for rugby fans and Neil Sorensen of New Zealand Rugby alike, so the referees have been given a clear message with their game priorities for the looming competition. There will be little tolerance for any defenders not rolling away immediately, while the ball is deemed out of the ruck when the halfback lifts the ball, as opposed to touches it, as is the case now.

Nick Briant of Bay of Plenty, who is likely to be the No 1 whistler once Chris Pollock, Glen Jackson and Mike Fraser head to Rugby World Cup, wants to see the focus back on the players, rather than the match officials, but accepts that is difficult in the increasingly scrutinised area of lineout drives or mauls.

"It's a really complicated area and we are seeing deliberate tactics with teams not trying to form mauls or deliberately tackling a jumper before the maul forms. The over-arching thing is that teams are playing that area very technically, which forces our hand and means we have to ref it technically," said Briant.

More defensive teams are taking a punt and hoping the referees is thinking they way they are thinking in the hope of gaining a penalty. It can backfire. Just 10 days ago, for example, in the St Pat's Stream v Town First XV clash in Wellington, the Stream hooker (Asofa Aumua) drove over unopposed for a try after Town did not engage. That gamble could decide a final.

While there was a cursory attempt some seasons ago at seeking straight(er) scrum feeds, the thinking on that has changed, after scrum guru Mike Cron raised it as a safety concern.

Says Briant: "If you put the ball dead straight into a low-formed scrum, neither hooker can hook that without bending their back into a dangerous position. The opposite hooker has no chance because he is even further away. Sometime the ball just sits in the middle and eventually the scrum collapses. The scrum works better with hooking."

To that end, referees want to see the halfback facing square before inserting the ball in the tunnel. Left shoulder in line with the centre line of the scrum is okay. So it needs to go in straightish...

Briant, who refereed his share of Super Rugby in 2015, enjoys getting back to officiate at provincial level.

"The ITM Cup has that club feel. It's more connected to Joe Blow Punter in their backyard. The defence isn't as well organised and there's that element of unpredictability. Young guys have less fear and there's more open play and counter-attack, like we saw with Nehe Milner-Skudder last year."

TMOs will again be sideline and, as ever, there are no rulings preventing 'home town' referees taking the whistle, though Briant says some of the younger brigade being promoted would not yet be put in that position.

Key game priorities: 2015 ITM Cup

Game fundamentals
*Play will not be stopped for injury unless the player is required for a scrum or is seriously injured

Positive set-pieces
*Scrums and lineouts formed within 30 seconds
*Scrums to be cleared immediately if they become stationary
*If a team chooses to sack the lineout jumper, this must be done before a maul is formed
*Some clarity around lineout drives and mauls with emphasis on the contest being encouraged and fairness to both teams

Breakdown
*Players of both teams off their feet are out of the game
*Halfbacks are not to be interfered with at rucks and mauls

Space for the game to operate
*Backlines at scrums 5m back and 10m at lineouts
*Tail gunners at the 15m line in lineouts must remain so until the lineout is ended.

Foul play
*Players who execute poorly when going for the ball in the air or intentionally take out the catchers will be penalised and/or carded
*Player joining breakdowns must use arms with their tackles if the first point of contact is the shoulder