O'Brien to whistle up breakdown solution

Former New Zealand referee Paddy O'Brien faces a daunting assignment in South Africa later this month -- overseeing a multi-national rugby brains trust tasked with simplifying the game's most confusing element, the breakdown.

As the International Rugby Board (IRB) referees co-ordinator, O'Brien will try and unravel the mess at the tackle ball situation with a panel of four former international coaches.

Australian Rod Macqueen, Ian McIntosh (South Africa), Scotland's Richie Dixon and Pierre Villepreux (France) will meet in Stellenbosch, near Cape Town, between February 13 and 17 to try to clean up an area that frustrates players, coaches, referees and fans alike.

"I really think rugby has come a long way since it went professional and a lot of good things have happened but there are areas of the game that need to be addressed," Macqueen told The Australian newspaper.

"Players are confused, coaches are confused and there is a general acceptance that we will have to do something about it.

"We'll be keeping open minds on what needs to be done.

"There are 33 laws governing the breakdown and we're certainly not looking to add any laws. Rather, we're looking to make it simpler."

The panel will have access to four rugby teams to allow it to stage matches to experiment with proposed new laws.

However, whatever recommendations the panel ultimately makes to the IRB executive council will not come into effect before 2008.

An IRB spokesman said there was a moratorium on any law changes until after next year's World Cup in France so that all countries are able to develop the skills needed to play under the existing regulations.

- NZPA