Murray Cup gets a varsity-style makeover

THE Murray Cup, one of the oldest and most prestigious club rugby competitions in the world, will have a different feel about it this year as it introduces a few rule changes as well as a change in structure,

Pollock. writes Darryn

Much like the Varsity Cup has tried to lead the way in setting new and interesting precedents for rugby rules, including 10-point scores and white cards, the Murray Cup will introduce new rules that are aimed at making the game faster and more appealing for spectators. Firstly, for the first 10 minutes of each half, there will be no kicking permitted outside of the 22m areas.

The hope here is that kicking battles will be eliminated, and that kicks will only be used to clear pressure on the try line.

Then, any tries that are scored underneath the poles will not require a kick for the conversion and will rather be awarded as a full seven-point score. And, to add to this, conversions after tries will have to be taken within 30 seconds, rather than the usual one minute.

There will also be one strategic break per half, meaning there will be four 20-minute quarters to the game instead of the usual 40-minute halves. Finally, instead of 23 players in the match-day squads, teams will be permitted to bring 25 players to rotate as substitutions.

The other big change in the Murray Cup sees teams paired off against each other by being drawn from a hat for the first round, which is different from before where teams were seeded based on their performance from the league.