Guscott calls for rugby replacements cap

ENGLAND and Lions great Jeremy Guscott has outlined the way ahead for rugby to make the next World Cup an even greater spectacle than the 2019 staging in Japan.

The former Bath centre, now a respected BBC pundit, has called on World Rugby to restrict the number of replacements teams can use during a game from eight to three.

He’s also demanding referees officiate to the letter of the law rather than handing out verbal warnings.

South Africa’s march to their third World Cup win had their famed ‘bomb squad’ of six fine-tuned forward replacements at its very core.

They helped smash England into submission in the final during the Springboks’ emphatic 32-12 victory and played a key role during the latter stages of their 19-16 triumph over Wales in the last four.

The ‘bomb squad’ also took care of hosts Japan in the quarter-finals, piling on the points in the second period after bringing on an entirely new front-row alongside second-row beasts RG Snyman and Franco Mostert. They were also able to unleash Bath’s breakdown king Francois Louw off the bench.

But Guscott argues the game would be better off with teams only being able to use just three replacements even though they could still have the same number of players sitting on the bench.

Writing in the Rugby Paper, the 65-times England centre, who also played eight Tests for the Lions, said: “The World Cup has left the game on a high and there should be a feel-good factor from the tournament in rugby nations around the globe.

“My only reservation is that it would be an even better sport if the bench was reduced in number. Half a team coming on with fresh legs and sharp minds against guys, who have been taken to the point of exhaustion, is pushing the game out of the realms of normality.

“We have got to make sure that Rugby Union remains a game in which skill and fitness are paramount – even though the fitness element has been eroded.

“A player like Alun Wyn Jones can go for 80 minutes, and so can Mako Vunipola, but there are a hell of a lot that cannot. The only problem is they are not made to pay the price.

“The game is great in many ways, but we should not be afraid to make it better. You could still have six or eight on the bench, but only be able to use three of them.”