LAW CHANGE
TRIAL AIMS TO ENERGISE THE GAME
TWO new law trials designed to energise rugby will get a first airing next month in the high-profile Australian National Rugby Championship.
But fans Down Under are already
split on the law changes being planned.
One trial featured is part of World Rugby’s drive to make player welfare a priority in the wake of chilling statistics surrounding the safety of the game.
The ANRC will see the introduction of the 50:22 kick when the competition starts at the end of August.
Under this law a kick from within your own half (your own 50-metre area) that lands on the field before crossing the touchline in the opposition 22 would see the kicking team get the throw at the lineout.
It is similar to the 40:20 rule in rugby league and is designed to create space by encouraging teams to deploy players deeper back in defence rather than cramming the defensive frontline.
The second trial is also plucked from rugby league and hasn’t been mooted beforehand in World Rugby plans to tinker with the laws.
Law 21 has been amended to see the defending team be rewarded for good defence with a goal-line drop out when the ball is held up in the in-goal area.
The current law sees the attacking team putting the ball into a five-metre scrum if there is any doubt over grounding or when a player has been held up over the try-line.
Instead of a drop-out 22, the defending team will have to drop the ball out from their own goal-line.
Law trials have taken place in a number of different competitions, from amateur tournaments in France to the Greene King IPA Championship Cup in England.
This summer’s U20 World Championship in Argentina also focused on a hightackle framework in an effort to cut down on the high number of concussions in the game.
The ANRC is the highest-profile senior tournament to undergo law trials. The competition is open to players following their Super Rugby campaigns.
It features clubs like NSW Country, Sydney, Western Force, Brisbane City, Queensland Country, Canberra Vikings, Melbourne Rising and Pacific Island outfit Fijian Drua.
The theory behind the trials is likely to result in more attacking kicking throughout this season’s NRC as the emphasis on territory and field position intensifies.
But fans already have their doubts and given a mixed response to the changes.
Here are a few of supporters’ opinions...
Ex-Force fan: 50/22 rule is good but not a fan of the hold-up above the line law variation. It will nullify forward tries like lineout drives that is a deterrent to give away penalties in your half.
Peter K: The drop-out makes sense in that the attacking team took the ball into the in-goal area and the defending team get the ball so is consistent with a ball that is kicked into the in-goal area and goes dead. Being held up you could say the ball has gone dead.
The 50:22 will cause even more kicking now but it will make defenders stay back and cover it. It won’t reduce kicking at all.
In fact, a lot of teams will kick more and eschew the space out wide.
Why? Not much downside, either the other team will kick it back and you can try again or even better it goes out and you get the lineout.
They may take the risk of running it back but if you kick so much your team will be chasing.
Paul: A few things borrowed from rugby league here, and I have no problem with that. A 50:22 kick will definitely add to the drama and reward good kicking in general play.
It will pin the full-back in the 22 a bit. I’m looking forward to that one. The line drop-out, I’m not so sure about. Is the attacking team being penalised for not grounding?
I think I’d rather see the law about rucks and mauls amended so that “play on” can be called in the in-goal
The Ferret: At what point does the attacking team get a new set of 6 tackles?
Soap it: It will change the way the game is played significantly and I don’t think the case has been made well enough as to why it’s necessary. Perhaps it will ultimately result in more running the ball.
I’ve always thought it’s a bad rule in league as it doesn’t really reward good
JSJ: The 50:22 kicking play rule is also one of rugby league rules, which happened maybe once in the average game, but that threat is always there.
The drop-out after a hold-up is new, but I like the sound of it.
It will reduce the endless collapsing and resetting of five-metre scrums that occur sometimes as the attacking side attempts to get a pushover or a penalty try.