KEY POINTS:
Clearance will be needed from the All Black coaches if the experimental laws are to be adopted in this year's Tri-Nations series.
Most of the touted variations have been approved by the International Rugby Board for a global year-long trial from August 1 before a November 2009 decision on whether they should remain in the game.
The All Blacks will play the visiting Irish and English sides under the old laws in June but by August 1, the All Blacks will have played the Springboks and Wallabies twice in the Tri-Nations series.
Meetings this week will decide if the introduction of the new laws should be brought forward to July 5 when the All Blacks host the Springboks in Wellington. NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said preliminary discussions with his Australian and South African counterparts at meetings in Dublin suggested the ELVs would be used throughout the Tri-Nations.
However he would wait until his return and discussions with the All Blacks staff before making New Zealand's position clear.
All the law variations approved for the global trial had been used this season in the Super 14 although the IRB had not agreed to the offside line and freekick sanctions. They had added a rule which allowed defenders to sack a maul.
"New Zealand has been surprised about dragging down the maul because of the safety aspect," Tew said. There had been little headway in achieving better clarity at the breakdown, though Tew said the NZRU had some ideas it would reveal publicly next week.
"There may be a little confusion but we think in the end it will be worthwhile," Tew said of the changes.
He described the global ELV trial as a "small victory" against what had been portrayed as a tidal wave of opposition from the Northern Hemisphere unions and mainstream media. Had the British media been believed, there was no way any of the laws would be accepted by the IRB council. There was a reluctance to try the laws, fears of a Southern Hemisphere conspiracy and a belief up north that the game was not broken.
WORLDWIDE TRIAL OF NEW RULES
ELVs to be trialled worldwide from August 1:
* Assistant referees can assist referees in any manner required.
* The corner posts are no longer considered to be in touch in-goal except when a ball is grounded against the post.
* If a team put the ball back into their own 22 and the ball is subsequently kicked directly into touch, there is no gain of ground.
* A quick throw may be thrown in straight or towards the throwing team's own goal line.
* There is no restriction on the number of players who can participate in the lineout from either side (minimum of two).
* The halfback at a lineout must stand 2m from the lineout.
* The player who is in opposition to the player throwing in the ball may stand in the area between the 5m line and touch line but must be 2m away from the lineout.
* Lineout players may pre-grip a jumper before the ball is thrown in.
* The lifting of lineout jumpers is permitted.
* Players are able to defend a maul by pulling it down.
* A player's head and shoulders may be lower than his hips in a maul.
* Introduction of an offside line 5m behind the scrum.
* Halfbacks must be in close proximity to the scrum ( present law) or must retreat 5m.
