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AIX EN PROVENCE - Rugby needs to undergo a series of rule changes, notably to the maul, to make it more open and spectacular, All Blacks legend Sir Brian Lochore believes.
While admitting that the basics of the game had changed little from his playing days from 1963-71, during which he captained New Zealand in 18 of his 25 tests, losing only three times, Lochore pinpointed the maul as the main impediment to a real spectacle.
"The good thing is players are compensated for the efforts and the time they spend in the game," Lochore said of the modern game.
"The game has changed a lot but the basics have not," said the 67-year-old, now an All Blacks selector.
"You still have to catch the ball, pass the ball, kick the ball, run and tackle. On these basics, nothing has changed.
"But because of the changes of the rules, there has been some changes in the way the game is played.
"There have been enormous changes to the defensive patterns. Attacking wise, not quite as much.
"The lineout has changed as well because you have lifts in the lineout. You can't kick into touch on the full when you're outside your 22."
But Lochore, who coached New Zealand to 1987 World Cup glory and was also manager on the doomed 1995 campaign, said his main bugbear was the maul.
"One of the boring aspects of the game for me now is the maul," he said.
"That's an indictment on the game when you have to kick to five metres of the corner and you get the lineout and you have a rolling maul that goes up and back and they don't have enough space in the backline to actually produce a try, that's poor.
"The pick-and-go is okay if you're doing it quickly but the rolling maul and the endless heap of players. We don't know who is infringing, which is very frustrating.
"These elements have to be tidied up, and then I think the game would go back to a more open and spectacular game."
Lochore also admitted that the use of players off the bench was something he did not like but was resigned to seeing.
"No, I don't like that, but I don't think there's anything we can do about it," he said of teams' regular use of all seven reserves during a match.
"I believe that rugby was a game of attrition, physical attrition, as well as the rugby skills.
"Teams that are well prepared physically and mentally should gain from it. Now it's 22 against 22 basically, and it's a different game."
After his success as All Blacks coach in 1987, Lochore said that the recipe for glory was all in the preparation.
"To win a World Cup, you have to be prepared to beat everybody, anytime at any stage of the competition," he said.
"I think the preparation the management team and the players have gone through (for this World Cup) is very good, the best ever without a shadow of doubt.
"We can only make sure that we can play at our absolute maximum.
"All the other teams have prepared, too, and they would say the same thing as me."
Lochore said the biggest threats would come from New Zealand's Tri-Nations rivals and hosts France, who suffered a 12-17 upset loss to against Argentina in the tournament's opening game
"South Africa, Australia, France, and I would not discount England and Ireland," he said of the All Blacks' closest rivals.
The latter are "not playing well but they have played well. You don't discount anyone, you'd suffer if you do it. We're prepared for whoever, whenever".
- AFP
