‘Apply strict breakdown rules’
England head coach Eddie Jones believes that referees have the power to free rugby from its defensive stupor by returning to a stricter policing of the breakdown.
With attacks struggling for fluency and kicking from hand dominating, the rugby played during the Autumn Nations Cup has been, by Jones’s own admission, ‘‘a real game for the purists’’ rather than casual armchair viewers.
In part, this is an aspect of the cyclical nature of the sport, which Jones says reminds him of the 2007 World Cup final, which was also contested by South Africa and England.
Yet the fundamental problem lies in the quagmire of the breakdown. As much as coaches’ conservatism has been blamed, Jones argues that ‘‘unless we are able to get quick ball it’s very difficult to play with any fluency’’.
This, Jones believes, is not a result of law changes, but of a lack of clarity and consistent application of the laws. After the weekend’s stodgy 24-13 victory against Wales, Jones cited tacklers’ failure to roll away as a prime cause of slow play, and he produced a mini manifesto to produce quicker, cleaner breakdowns.
‘‘[It means] ensuring the first arriving player in attack stays on his feet,’’ Jones said. ‘‘It’s making sure the assist tackler gives a clear release, which is something that hasn’t been happening at all. What’s the opposite of zero tolerance? That’s where it is at the moment and we have to cope with that. That’s how it is and we try to play as well as we can under those conditions.’’
As Jones pointed out when rugby first restarted in New Zealand after the pandemic hit, referees were incredibly strict in officiating the offside line as well as tacklers rolling away.
In the first two matches of Super Rugby referees awarded 58 penalties, yet over the past few months there has been a reversion to the mean. The offside line, in particular, is close to being a free-for-all.
‘‘At the start of the postlockdown in New Zealand Super Rugby, the referees went very hard at offside, very hard at the breakdown and were roundly criticised, so it seems people want to have both sides of the cake; they don’t want the referee to referee the laws, then when we get slow ball they criticise the game,’’ Jones said.
‘‘I’ve always been an advocate of the referee being there to enforce the laws and if we have a high penalty count then so be it. The bonus of having a high penalty count is that you’re able to get quick ball.’’
Jones remains optimistic that rugby will revert to an attacking cycle seen during the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, and says the idea that the sport is in crisis is ‘‘massively alarmist’’.
One significant obstacle is the lack of face-to-face meetings held by referees during the pandemic, which he says accounts for the officials’ inconsistency.