Pressure pays off on breaking down the laws

The rugby world has reacted positively to news that radical laws are being trialled in South Africa with a view to the sport undergoing a major revamp after the World Cup.

The IRB has ceded to pressure from coaches, players, supporters and broadcasters to tidy up the shambolic breakdown laws and experimental games will be played at Stellenbosch University where players can handle the ball in rucks.

These trial games will also allow opposing teams to bring down rolling mauls and for teams not to match up numbers in the lineout. Only foul play will result in penalties being awarded - the rest will be free kicks - and free kicks will only carry a tap or scrum option.

It's radical stuff and has come about because even the IRB can no longer ignore the fact that the complex rules at the breakdown are threatening to turn away spectators in their thousands.

Sponsors and broadcasters, too, were becoming miffed at the unfathomable way the game was being refereed, not necessarily because of officials but because of the ambiguous nature of the rules.

The five new experimental rules have been thought up by an IRB-appointed committee that includes former Australian coach Rod Macqueen, former South Africa coach Ian McIntosh, former Scotland coach Richie Dixon, former French coach Pierre Villepreux and former New Zealand test referee Paddy O'Brien.

This panel will assess the impact of their ideas and then make recommendations as to whether any of the proposals should be officially ratified. No changes will be made ahead of next year's World Cup.

New Zealand Rugby Union deputy chief executive Steve Tew said there is strong support for any concept that could simplify the game and make it easier for a wider audience to understand.

"Our view is that we are very positive about having a laboratory at Stellenbosch to trial these ideas. It is very important we have these changes assessed in a game situation. Even small changes can have a major consequence when they are introduced in the game situation.

"I think it is pretty obvious where the contentious areas are. The breakdown is definitely an area that is hard to rule as it is one of the fastest, most physical places where the players actively compete for the ball.

"We want to keep rugby unique and that means we have to have a contest at the lineout, scrum and breakdown. If we can adapt the game so we retain those elements but also make the game easier to understand and more exciting then we would be in favour. But it's too early to say much about the specifics that have been proposed. We would need to see what happens in the trials before we have a view on the specific changes."

While the initial focus will be on the five proposed rule changes, other ideas may be trialled in time.

Under-19 games have already been played where both teams have been able to name 12 replacements but still only use seven.

The rationale there is to avoid scenarios where games are reduced to golden oldie scrum rules when props get injured. These same games have also featured in-touch officials to adjudicate whether tries have been scored.

"The ultimate aim of these experimental laws is to allow for more creativity," said Macqueen.

Once the panel release the findings of their trial games, any law changes will need to be approved by 75 per cent of the IRB's full board.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY