IRB to give new laws once-over
The world body’s objective is to speed up the game
THE International Rugby Board (IRB) is set to trial several new laws aimed at speeding the game up and giving the television match official (TMO) more power, following a meeting of its general council in Dublin this week.
In all, five law amendments will undergo trial as from January 2013 in the southern hemisphere, while the Springboks can expect to field eight reserves when they meet Ireland, Scotland and England in November this year.
The IRB have called for the addition of an extra prop on the bench, which is aimed at reducing the scourge of uncontested scrums.
“Having been involved in the Varsity Cup in the last few seasons, where they use the extra prop on the bench, I’ve seen first-hand how it only benefits teams and games,” Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said. “It also reduces the risk on props and almost nullifies uncontested scrums, which is something no one in rugby really enjoys.
“This law has also been used to great effect in club competitions in the northern hemisphere and I’ve not heard of anyone that dislikes it.”
Other laws approved for trial include limiting the time that the ball is available at the back of a ruck; the positioning of taking a quick throw-in; the time a kicker has to convert a try; a team awarded a penalty or a free-kick at a lineout may choose a further lineout in addition to a scrum option and finally when the ball goes into touch from a knock-on, the non-offending team will be offered the choice of a lineout at the point the ball crossed the touchline; or a scrum at the place of the knock-on.
The time limit to be placed on the ball at the base of the ruck will be five seconds after the referee tells the team in possession to “use it”.
All conversions will have a 90-second time limit from the time a try has been awarded, which means players would have to curtail try celebrations in order to ensure their goal-kicker has enough time to set himself for conversions.
The IRB is also looking at increasing the powers of the TMO by trialling a system where his jurisdiction is expanded. Translated that means the TMO can go back in a sequence leading up to a try and refer any transgression (such as a knock-on or foul play) to the referee. Currently a TMO can only rule on the act of scoring.
The IRB stated there had been an “extensive process of consultation and evaluation”, culminating with recent trials at playing environments in Cambridge and Stellenbosch.
The law changes have come from recommendations of the IRB’S independent Laws Representative Group, which comprises representatives from each of the 10 tier-one nations and the IRB Rugby Committee.
At the same meeting the dates for Rugby World Cup 2015 were confirmed with the tournament scheduled to start on September 18 – two weeks later than the organisers wanted.
The southern hemisphere dug its heels in, wanting the tournament to start on September 25 so that the 2015 Rugby Championship could be played in full. In the end a compromise was reached, although the English club season will now be two weeks shorter and the Rugby Championship could also be curtailed.
South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby (Sanzar) will receive compensation from the IRB as the incoming tours in June 2015 fall away in the truncated season. Northern hemisphere unions are also expected to receive financial compensation from the IRB because of their shortened seasons.