These rules to make our game faster can’t come quickly enough

THERE have been times at BT Murrayfield when we’ve all been frustrated by slow play. A scrum is reset for the umpteenth time, the team with a player in the sin bin do a slow walk up to the line-out, or a kicker is given more time than is allowed in the rules. Thankfully, World Rugby are looking at ways of keeping matches flowing and cutting out the constant delays. The changes can’t come soon enough. A two-day conference has been held in London with a remit of making the game more entertaining. The SRU have had a big input, with Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, chief executive Mark Dodson and director of high performance rugby Jim Mallinder all in attendance.

Their views — along with other senior figures from the top rugby nations — will be taken into account before the new proposals are drawn up. Plans are on the table to have a countdown timer running on scrums, line-outs and kicks at goal. If a player doesn’t feed the scrum quick enough or doesn’t take the throw-in within a designated time period yet to be decided, they will be penalised. There would be a ‘shot clock’ — like in basketball — that would be seen on the big screen inside the stadium and in the corner of the television screen for those watching at home.

It will add to the pressure on players to get a move on, particularly the goal kickers who, under current but rarely-enforced rules, have a minute to take a penalty and 90 seconds for a conversion. Taking kicks against the clock will no doubt lead to some off-putting whistles from the crowd — total silence and ‘respect the kicker’ will be things of the past — but will add to the sense of drama.

There are also plans to limit the number of times water carriers are allowed to run on the pitch. Officially, they are there to give drinks to the players but, more often than not — especially when players are waiting for a conversion to be taken — they are passing on instructions from the coaching box. World Rugby are also looking at reducing the amount of time spent on TMO referrals, which can go on for an age under the current system. There are also proposals to ‘improve the fan experience’ inside grounds by broadcasting all discussions between the referee and television match officials through the ref-link earpiece. If accepted, these changes could be in place for the World Cup in France next September. In a crowded sports marketplace, anything that makes rugby more entertaining has to be welcomed. Most of the ideas shouldn’t be too difficult to introduce — provided they get through World Rugby bureaucracy in time. Let’s hope the SRU contingent help push them through sooner rather than later.