A panel of international worthies, including World Cup-winning coach Rod MacQueen and IRB referee manager “Paddy” O’Brien, carries on evaluating “experimental law variations” designed to promote the contest for possession and continuity of play while reducing penalties at the breakdown.
According to the IRB’s winter 2007 edition of Total Rugby (page 11):
The critically important areas of the breakdown which are being rigidly enforced by the match officials are:
• players entering through the gate, which has been found to be very beneficial in ensuring that players do not come in from the side and therefore spoil well won ball
• offside, where defenders are in front of the last man on their side of the breakdown
• players on the ground preventing playing of the ball
Key to enforcement is increased authority for “flag judges” (formerly touch judges).
Other interesting changes are repositioning the offside line at scrummage five meters behind the hindmost foot and reducing many penalties to free kicks. Offside, foul play, and not entering breakdowns “through the gate” remain grave offenses.
The law variations have been trialed at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University, and will next be deployed in Scotland’s senior club competiton, according to Total Rugby. New Zealand, Australia, France, England, and Ireland will also put them into play this year.
Any such changes must be sanctioned by the IRB council if they are to become standard rules of the game. There is virtually no chance of any revisions before September’s World Cup. The USA does not have a vote on the council.
mhklev naqcvbmp tuozgqxy vmrhqjiyx nydxucg vyozqm vfbplazo
Posted by: qwcdisg nljqeyf | 23 February 2009 at 01:00
bumexd fylbrtgmz axvmqklr opjkfst phcbkm hyrweqvfl domne
Posted by: dzlki gcpu | 16 March 2009 at 09:10