KEY POINTS:
The three Sanzar nations presented a unified front in prophesying a bold new era of rugby yesterday but the southern hemisphere's governing body stopped short of introducing the most radical of the experimental law variations (ELVs).
Next year's Super 14 may well be bigger, faster, better and stronger but you won't see players using their hands in the ruck with impunity. At least unless Wayne Barnes is guest refereeing.
Sanzar rubber stamped a raft of changes to the game's laws but shelved the most radical proposal - allowing players to use their hands in the ruck.
It had been hoped the change would clean up the infringement-bedevilled ruck, make it easier to officiate and simpler for spectators to understand. But trials, including those in New Zealand's B national championship, showed the concept to be flawed.
Instead of freeing up the ball quickly, the law change created unseemly, lengthy wrestling matches and New Zealand would likely have been the nation arguing most strongly for the change to be scrapped.
In the end the changes to the troublesome breakdown area were largely cosmetic.
Sanzar did however usher in a raft of changes, including changing the sanction for many offences from a penalty to a free kick. The change is certain to speed up the game dramatically, with quick tap restarts to replace the touch-finding kick and lineout.
If successful in Super 14, the change could be bad news for traditional locks, with the emphasis on the position switching from aerial ability and power to mobility.
Tweeners such as Troy Flavell and Reuben Thorn - not quite genuine locks or flankers - appear those most likely to benefit.
The other fundamental change consigned to the scrap heap was the ability to halt malls by pulling them down. The decision to reject the change would appear to be a victory for South Africa and a defeat for Australia, who had agitated for the ELVs to be adopted en masse in the belief they would help a country currently bereft of world class tight forwards.
Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie was among the first to give the changes the thumbs-up.
"We've been calling for this for a long time so it's great to see it locked in stone," he said.
"It's a big win for attacking rugby."
Australian Rugby Union deputy chief executive Matt Carroll, speaking on behalf Sanzar, said rugby needed to become more appealing to fans and players alike.
"The primary aim of the new laws is to keep the ball in play longer, fewer stoppages, more running rugby, therefore a more free-flowing, faster and exciting style of play," Carroll said.
NZRU chief executive designate Steve Tew also threw his weight behind the changes, which include allowing players to contact corner flags when scoring tries; pushing the offside line at scrums back five metres; allowing quick lineout throws to travel backwards; and preventing kicks out on the full after the ball has been passed back into the 22.
"The trial of the ELVs in [the national B competition] saw a more open game and the variations we are trialling were positively received by our players, coaches and referees," Tew said.
Even if successful in Super 14, there will be a lag before the new rules are introduced at international level, meaning the Sanzar nations will like likely have to revert to the current rules for next year's pre-Tri Nations tours, including the All Blacks' home matches against Ireland and England.
Carroll said he believed the switching back and forth wouldn't cause too much disruption.
"Our coaching staff believe the players will readily adapt back to the existing laws for those inbound tours," he said.
"It's the preference of Sanzar to play all the Sanzar competitions under the same laws. We obviously believe in them."
