The new experimental laws

I should have told all you poor souls watching European rugby on your weekends exactly what the new laws being trialled down south ARE before insisting so vehemently that they will improve the game.

1. Corner posts will be positioned at the outside junction of the goal line and touch line.
2. If a player is in possession of the ball and touches the corner post he will not be in touch unless he touches the touchline or the ground beyond the touchline.
3. If the ball is not being carried by a player and it touches the corner post, the ball will not be deemed to be touch-in-goal.
4. When a defending player receives the ball outside the 22 metre line and either passes, puts or takes the ball back inside the 22, if the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is in line with where the ball was kicked.
5. When a defending player receives the ball outside the 22 metre line and either passes, puts or takes the ball back inside the 22, if a tackle, ruck or maul is subsequently formed and the ball is then kicked into touch, the lineout is where the ball crossed the touch line.
6. On a quick throw-in, the ball can be thrown straight or backwards towards the goal line of the team throwing in, but not forward towards the opposition goal line.
7. In a lineout, lifting, pre-gripping and using another team mate to lever are all allowed.
8. Players entering the breakdown area must do so through “the gate”.
9. Immediately the tackle occurs there are offside lines.
10. The halfback, or anyone clearing from the base of the breakdown, should not be touched unless he visibly has his hands on the ball.
11. If the ball is unplayable at a tackle or ruck, the side that did not take the ball into contact will receive a free kick.
12. If a maul becomes unplayable, the team not in possession at the start of the maul receives a free kick.
13. The offside line for players who are not either in the scrum or halfback is five metres behind the hindmost foot of the scrum.
14. For all offences other than offside, not entering through the gate and foul play, the sanction is a free kick.
15. Assistant referees can assist referees in any manner required.

Numbers 1, 2 and 3 are designed to make the touchline and corner posts easier to police in scoring situations.

Numbers 4 and 5 ensure that teams may not contrive to find advantageous touch.

Numbers 6 and 7 merely formalise common practice.

Numbers 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 put the onus on both teams to free the ball at the breakdown, and serve to eliminate confusion previously arising from inconsistencies surrounding tackled ball, ruck and maul situations.

Number 13 makes for far more attacking space from the scrum.

Number 14 is simply a change in punishment, giving players the benefit of the doubt for accidental infringements.

Number 15 means that the referee can ask help from his assistants whenever adjudicating.

All make perfect sense, and so far have produced some sparkling rugby when combined correctly with the well-established smart rugby basics.

New Zealand teams are (mostly) playing a sensible mix of patience and adventure, setting the same solid platform up front as usual but instantly slipping into full attack mode whenever opportunities arise.

The Australian teams appear to be willing to change, but more cautiously. They look to be relishing the space to attack, but are unwilling to chance their arm except in conventional attacking positions, and when on defence are finding out the hard way that kicking away possession is even more of an error than before.

The South African teams (with the exception of the Cheetahs) appear to be putting less faith in the new possible game plans, largely sticking to their stodgy old blueprints of territorial kicking and battering forward drives.

Which is fine, until you come up against a team of fit young New Zealanders.

The Blues and Crusaders both carried on their winning ways in South Africa last weekend. The two games contrasted vividly, and so illustrate the stylistic differences still possible under the new laws.

The Blues put 50 points on the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein while conceding 26. The New Zealanders were hell-bent on attack, and so naturally they neglected defence to a certain extent. Joe Rokocoko scored his first hat-trick for the Blues, running a succession of lethal angles through the Free State backline off sympathetic passes from his five-eighths and fellow three-quarters.

The Cheetahs put in a gutsy physical performance that the Blues paid tribute to afterwards, but they could not deal with the pace of the Blues’ play. All they could do was enter into the free-running spirit of the occasion and post as many points of their own as possible. They are third on the try-scoring tally so far in 2008, strangely enough, without having yet won a game.

It was the first time any Super Rugby side has scored successive half centuries in the Republic. Next week the Blues would be foolish to try for three fifties in a row against the Sharks in Durban. A win of any sort will suffice against the most dangerous of African franchises.

The Crusaders’ win in Cape Town would have been like the Blues’ if some of their final passes had stuck. Many potential tries were bombed within sight of the goal-line. It’s funny sometimes how obviously a niggly team can affect the patience of the opposition. The Crusaders were just as well equipped to out-think the Stormers as the Blues had been with the Cheetahs, but the last shred of composure when needed was often missing… used up in jersey-pulling and off-the-ball incidents leading up to the final phases.

The Crusaders won 22-0 in the end, failing to secure a bonus point fourth try but well enough satisfied in keeping the Stormers scoreless for the first time ever. The beauty of what they accomplished was in how they adjusted. They kept the points ticking over without relinquishing a vise-like grip of defensive pressure.

The Hurricanes registered their second win, beating the Chiefs in Wellington 39-19. Things are starting to click for the competition’s favourite mavericks, with their lately powerful front row asserting themselves and their loose forwards dominating secondary phases. Jerry Collins in particular rose to his full capabilities and produced a mighty performance, putting the recently much-touted Liam Messam in his place. With the steadily increasing flow of possession the Hurricanes backline found its rhythm.

The Highlanders lost their third match in a row with a close-loss bonus point, 12-15 to the Waratahs in Dunedin. The Waratahs to their credit held onto possession tenaciously, still guilty of occasional aimless kicking but determined up front and with an impressive fifteen-man understanding of their own offensive and defensive patterns, which they moved between seamlessly as and when required.

In a similar match on another night, the Highlanders may have reversed the result… it was only a dropped pass here or a narrowly missed kick there away from a win, even a late intercept going the Waratahs’ way… but when things aren’t going your way they have a strange habit of continuing in that vein.

In other matches the Force beat the Lions 18-16 at Ellis Park, the Brumbies beat the Reds 43-11 in Canberra, and the Sharks beat the Bulls 29-15 at Loftus Versfeld. There isn’t much to describe about these results which can’t be inferred by that already stated… teams with an inclination towards expressive rugby are profiting, and conservative teams are their bunnies.

It will be interesting to see how the SANZAR teams perform against their northern visitors in the series of June internationals, when the new experimental laws are shelved. Perhaps the southern rugby players will have learned things playing the new laws which prove just as valuable under the old ones?

More likely though that the old basics such as the ball being faster than the man will retain their significance, but that matches played under the old laws will afford less opportunites to display them.

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