Rugby’s new and simplified rule book out soon

World Rugby has brought forward the release of its simplified law book to the start of 2018.

Rugby laws are meant to be clearer in the new version of the book, which was approved by the World Rugby council on Wednesday and originally wasn’t going to be available until late next year.

An eight-member group, which included law experts and referees, undertook a two-year consultation and feedback process in a bid to simplify the game’s often criticised laws.

World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said the original book was ‘‘over complicated’’ and he was excited by the simplified version.

‘‘We’re always trying to simplify the game and make it more attractive. It’s another way we’re trying to make rugby more accessible and more simple,’’ he said in a Twitter video released by World Rugby.

The early release of the book — an online version will be available on January 1 — will be like a second Christmas for All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, who was vocal about the book needing a spruce-up in the wake of the drawn British and Irish Lions series.

New Zealand Rugby high performance referee manager Rod Hill was nominated by New Zealand Rugby to help run the project and he spent more than 18 months completely re-writing the law book.

‘‘I’ve had three three-day lockups, where we’ve got through everything in the law book and said ‘how do we make it easier to read and easier to understand’,’’ he told in July.

‘‘We’ve reduced the number of words in the law book by 50 per cent.’’

As a result, it’s been called 42 per cent shorter than the current 212-page monster.

‘‘As our game continues to grow around the world, we continue to strive to make the sport accessible to all,’’ World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said.

‘‘The laws can be difficult for new participants and fans and the new law book goes a long way towards simplifying it and making it easier to understand for players, coaches, referees and the viewing public.’’