The ELVs are dead, long live rugby – apparently
Roar Guru By pothale, 30 Mar 2009 Pot Hale is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- ELVs, Experimental Law Variations, International Rugby, International Rugby Board, IRB, Rugby Union, SANZAR
159 Have your say
Related coverage
- Rugby Union news
- International Rugby Union - Six Nations, Heineken Cup, Rugby Championship news
- ELVs news
According to a report published today in a British Sunday newspaper, the trial of the Experimental Law Variations is nearly at an end, and the signs are that hardly any of the ELVs will be recommended to the IRB for passing permanently into rugby’s laws.
Following extensive trialling of a number of the Laws since early 2008 in SANZAR nations, and a global trial of some of the Laws since August 2008, extensive reports, surveys and studies have been conducted across the various playing nations around the globe.
What at first was being seen as a direct conflict between Northern and Southern hemisphere countries about the various Laws and their effectiveness, has, according to the Sunday Times report, apparently turned into global opposition to the majority of the proposed new Laws.
These views will be made known at a meeting of the various unions to be held this week in England, hosted by the IRB.
The meeting this week decides which measures will then be put to a formal vote of the IRB council. At this stage, the newspaper report asserts, little if any, of the Laws may make it through.
Each of the experimental laws will be assessed, and a judgement made if they are working well enough to formally refer to the IRB Council, where they will need a majority of two-thirds to be passed. The Six Nations unions, Argentina and Canada could force the IRB into recognizing that the Laws are doomed – because they have the voting power to say so, if necessary.
And it’s not only northern hemisphere nations who are making their opposition clear apparently. It exists in southern hemisphere climes too.
The coach of the Crusaders, Todd Blackadder, is quoted as saying: “The same issues that people are talking about in the north are happening here. The mindless kicking. The ELVs are supposed to encourage more running rugby, but everyone’s ended up kicking it aimlessly. It’s something that needs addressing urgently. I don’t see it as North v South, it’s a global rugby issue.”
The Sunday Times report claims that opposition is also growing in South Africa rugby clubs amongst the coaches and players.
One high profile SA coach – not named – involved in the discussions is quoted as stating: “We are under pressure from our Sanzar partners and the IRB, but we want most of the ELVs out. What was intended to simplify the game has done the reverse. Free kicks, especially, are too easy.”
The article is written by Stephen Jones for the Sunday Times with investigative support from a number of other named journalists for the story and related articles.
It’ll be interesting to see how accurate and informed they are, by the end of the week, following the outcome of the IRB meeting.
Recommend this story.
March 30th 2009 @ 11:24am
sheek said | March 30th 2009 @ 11:24am | Report comment
May I add what I said in another thread. An old boss, with great insight, once advised me: “Don’t ever confuse lots of activity with productivity”.
Something for all the football codes, not just rugby union, to ponder.
The ELVs were a well-intentioned effort to improve the attraction of rugby. But as I lectured in the past, it all comes back to the attitude of the players & coaches. You can tinker with the laws all you like, you can’t force the majority of players & coaches to play a particular way.
Unless of course, or perhaps, you tie players/coaches income to gate takings, TV ratings, sponsorship deals, etc. Then they might be more motivated to play attractively.
But it all comes back to a state of mind, not a rule of law.
March 30th 2009 @ 12:08pm
Dexter William said | March 30th 2009 @ 12:08pm | Report comment
After reading all the above, here is the question:
Is S14 more attractive to watch now or was it better before the ELV?
IMO, S14 was more entertaining before the ELVs. Some of you may remember that the NH commentators used to call S14 rugby “touch’ footy then – but boy was it exciting to watch.
Now S14 is just a kick-fest. An aimless kick-fest punctuated by easy to earn free kicks.
I was a supporter of the ELV when it came out, but was totally disappointed by it.
As a whole the Experimental Laws is a failure. The only way I see it working is the introduction of “taking a mark” (which is a skill anyway) anywhere on the field to stop mindless kicking and giving some sort of penalty against the kicker – by way of a full arm penalty or a free kick taken from where it was kicked.
Long live ELV – an experiment that created more kicking than preventing it.
March 30th 2009 @ 12:12pm
Midfielder said | March 30th 2009 @ 12:12pm | Report comment
Skip
Strong reaction .. can you expand on your throughts.
March 30th 2009 @ 12:14pm
Dexter William said | March 30th 2009 @ 12:14pm | Report comment
Sheek
“The ELVs were a well-intentioned effort to improve the attraction of rugby. But as I lectured in the past, it all comes back to the attitude of the players & coaches. You can tinker with the laws all you like, you can’t force the majority of players & coaches to play a particular way.”
When the Government introduced fringed benefit tax, I can tell you it stopped a lot of so called “entertainment” BS.
When the Government started RBT, it stopped a lot of us from even thinking of driving to any parties.
As much as you think it is the attitude, the law makes a a huge difference in the way we do things.
It is all about having a set of good laws and policing them correctly.
March 30th 2009 @ 12:34pm
Bay35Pablo said | March 30th 2009 @ 12:34pm | Report comment
Yes, damn those evil ELVs, source of all evil and badness in rugby. Bad ELVs, bad, bad ,bad.
Once they are gone, all will be right. Sunlight and nectar and ambrosia. Enemies will embrace, strange skins rashes will heal, yadda yadda yadda.
(hawks, spits, starts smoking) Well that was a waste of time. Well intentioned, poorly implemented, turned into a political football, whinged about by the usual brain dead hacks in the media (Both hemispheres), poorly refereed, taken behind the barn and shot.
March 30th 2009 @ 12:35pm
Bay35Pablo said | March 30th 2009 @ 12:35pm | Report comment
Oh, forgot to say, because I pay attention to what Simon Jones says.
Agendas? Placed leaks? No, never ….
March 30th 2009 @ 12:37pm
harvoz said | March 30th 2009 @ 12:37pm | Report comment
The potential beauty of the ELVs were they would lower the influence of the ref, who, if rugby is honest with itself, is the most appalling feature of the game.
The idea:
Give attacking teams a chance, don’t reward negativity — all good. No more daft 50/50 penalties at the breakdown/scrum. Take the ‘schoolmaster’ out of the game. A free kick will suffice.
I’m not so sure it hasn’t been a ‘success’. It certainly hasn’t been for lumbering plodders.
However, there’s no question the quest for field position (meaning ‘kick the thing’) has increased, rather than diminished since the intro of the ELVs. Why this alone inspires a wide ranging condemnantion of the the ELVs, I’m not so sure.
One hopes they don’t throw out the baby with the bath water, though with pillacks such as that horrendous blight on sport Stephen Jones leading the way the northern hemisphere game will likely hold sway.
We’ll still beat the prentenders, but an opportunity to make rugby a truly internationally appealing game will be lost. Again.
Greg
March 30th 2009 @ 12:51pm
mitzter said | March 30th 2009 @ 12:51pm | Report comment
I’m am loving all the debates on the rugby laws going on and I really wonder where the sport will be in 10 years times. Personally I must agree with Matt that the aerial pingpong has NOTHING to do with the ELVs and are just a consequence of the safety first territory game.
So many people are upset at the ELVs from both the nth and sth as the christ or antichrist but they change very little in how the game is played. Rugby’s problems start and end with the breakdown (with the scrum somewhere in between)
The breakdown is the biggest cause of our troubles but we wish to retain it as it is a big part of the spectacle of the game. The troubles here I must say have been present over the last 10 years. If its too easy for the defence to get the ball in the ruck no one would take the ball into the ruck, if it’s too hard (like it is now) only one defensive rucker will commit in order to disrupt and cause the attack to need 3+ offensive ruckers. Interpretations assisting the attack from around 2000 have caused this! By assisting the attack in interpretation we have effectively destroyed attack. Every ruck must be a contest!
Why do refs tell the players to stop competing at ruck time??? Who made this interpretation.
I think we need to decide what statistics we want and work the rules from there. Say 2 teams of equal skill should win no more than 70% of their ball in a ‘normal ruck’ 3-4 players from each side. this should increase or decrease substantially if there are more players from either side present. This should encourage the defence to participate.
A return to the need for being on your feet and bound is a good start but that gets said every year and every year ruck sare still stagnant pile-ons
March 30th 2009 @ 12:53pm
Sam Taulelei said | March 30th 2009 @ 12:53pm | Report comment
There were several knowledgeable and well intentioned people that were involved with the development of the ELV’s – did they alll get it completely wrong? Is rugby an impossible game to simplify? Is rugby too difficult a game to referee and play accurately with so many laws?
I agree with Matt and Sheek’s comments that it’s flawed logic to suggest that the abandonment of the ELV’s would then miraculously rescue the game from itself and we’d see a return to the open, running style of game prior to their introduction. The ELV’s has been a convenient scapegoat for many turgid matches on offer in both hemispheres and if the article is true and they’re banished then we’ll find something new to blame for the aerial ping pong continuing etc. Little attention is paid to the attitude of the players and coaches in how they try to play the game, or that should read more accurately “try to win the game”.
Watching the Chiefs last three matches is a great example of their positive attitude and belief in their skill in moving the ball to players in space and taking the path of greater resistance instead of just kicking in hope and prayer. And when they do kick it, it’s with purpose and almost always into space – so maybe other players need to practice among other things their kicking.
Last week I watched the “Rugby Club” on Fox Sports and former Welsh captain Gareth Davies was a guest panellist. His comments about the differences between the Six Nations final and latest round of Super 14 illustrated those differences in attitude. I agree with him that you don’t need to score a lot of tries to have a great game of rugby however rubbishing the Chiefs effort against the Blues because of the perceived poor Blues defence makes light of the brilliance and simplicity of the Chiefs attack that night and on that occasion I would argue that it wouldn’t have mattered who played the Chiefs, they would have all finished well behind on the scoreboard. The same comments were made by people following the Boks annihilation of Australia in the Tri Nations last year, everyone was talking about how rubbish the Wallabies defence was and not enough credit paid to the skill, speed and simplicity of the Boks attack.
Rugby is a beautiful game to watch when the simple things are executed well and there always appears to be acres of space for players to run. The laws on their own don’t promote or negate that, the coaches and players also have a part to play.
March 30th 2009 @ 1:20pm
Jock M said | March 30th 2009 @ 1:20pm | Report comment
I find it quite amusing that the tackler has to move away when it is the tackled player that is causing the most dysfunction.Make him release the ball on impact with the ground and allow the use of the feet and the game will change overnight.
Don’t ever believe that the neccessary changes cannot happen.If you do not think that I am right consider what world leaders and their Governments are doing to address the Financial Crises and ask yourself whether you would have thought it possible or acceptable a few short years ago.