Well, rugby lovers, this question will finally be answered on the May 13 when a definitive decision on the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) will be reached. And not a day too soon.
We are currently playing numerous versions of the game around the globe: one set of laws for Super 14, another for the Six Nations, another for the Guinness Premiership, Magner’s League and French Top 14, and another for Japanese Top League.
You get the point.
Isn’t it time we finally give the game one set of laws? That is easier said than done.
On one hand we have the game being pushed to become more ‘entertaining’, a greater spectacle for the viewer who might take to the faster, more open, less technical versions; where tries and line breaks are in some cases seen as more appealing than the games’ end result.
Is it financial, match revenue, corporate interest, merchandise sales and so on that drives this agenda? Or is it a genuine desire to see the game played in a less conservative fashion?
While, on the other hand, rugby traditionalists are desperately trying to protect the fabric of the game, the heart of what truly makes our game unique.
Yes, it’s more technical and at times a little slower when the clock ticks as teams do battle at set-piece, but it’s still rife with strategy and tactical precision.
Is it fear of change, evolution and the not knowing with certainty what the outcome of competing under the ELV’s might be? Or is it that the importance of the games’ integrity runs so deeply in the veins of rugby lovers globally that change is incomprehensible?
Can we satisfy both?
In my opinion, our game has the ability to evolve without risk of eroding either the tradition or uniqueness that makes rugby what it is: a game for all shapes and sizes, contested with tactics, strategy and skill amidst physical confrontation.
Recent reports from the two-day conference in London revealed that the International Rugby Board (IRB) has made recommendations that 10 of the 13 current ELVs being trialed in the Southern Hemisphere should be permanently included into the sports’ law book.
It is, however, the other three that will cause the most resistance.
The rugby world appears split in this debate by hemispheres, with the South urging more for the inclusion of the entire ELVs, while the North would be happy with none, or just the more cosmetic laws with little tangible effect on the game, such as changing touch judges to assistant referees, corner post no longer touch in-goal, or lifting in lineouts ‘officially’ allowed.
Where the law-makers will find the most resistance is with:
1. The sanctions for ruck infringements
2. Collapsing the maul; and
3. Lineout number
as these will have the greatest effect on the direction of our game going forward.
I am currently coaching in Japan, where all infringements – free-kicks (short arm) or penalties (full arms) – inevitably result in a quick tap followed soon thereafter by an error. A coaches’ nightmare, I can tell you.
This aside, I do see merit in the sanctioning of free-kicks for ruck infringements to encourage speed of play and increased ‘ball in hand’ strategies.
The success of this in the short term, however, will no doubt come down to how it is managed by the whistle blowers as, if they are too quick to shoot, teams will play under the banner of ‘better off playing without the ball’, which inevitably will result in a kick-fest for territory control.
Being an attack and backs coach, I must plea to the rugby gods to outlaw the legal collapsing of the maul. It might appear strange on the surface that I would make such a statement, but it’s simple.
An effective maul attacks defenders to repel its forward momentum, hence taking defenders out of the defence line and creating space to attack with ‘ball in hand’.
Here we satisfy the ‘traditionalist’ up North and the ‘entertainers’ of the South.
Simple, isn’t it?
Without entering into the realm of encouraging more kicking, the 22m law in relation to ‘kicking directly into touch from ball played back into the 22 equals no gain in ground’ does promote the ball being kept in play, as opposed to simply being kicked into the ’cheap seats’.
As we adjust, adapt and gain a greater understanding of ways to use this law, coaches and players will become more innovative.
Counter-attacking options and variations will be implemented, as opposed to simply kicking back. Thus more ‘ball in hand’ and teams who kick aimlessly will be punished.
However, It would also be fair to say that as oppositions take pressure out of the front defensive line to resource their back field for these counter attack opportunities, teams could elect to run to get the advantage.
Here lies the true essence of our game: a battle of strategic contests.
So on May 13, our law makers will decide whether we take the game along the less traveled road ahead or the well-trodden road behind. Either way, I assure you, the game will survive.
The original rational for the ELVs was to breathe attacking life into rugby, and evolve it from the defensive dominated condition that had engulfed world rugby.
The ten proposed ELVs to be permanently incorporated into the games’ law book:
Law 6 – ‘assistant referees’ as opposed to the previous title of ‘touch judges’.
Law 19 – lifting in the lineout allowed.
Law 19 – positioning of receiver must be two metres away from lineout.
Law 19 – pre-gripping of lineout jumpers allowed.
Law 22 – corner posts no longer touch in goal.
Law 19 – Kicking directly into touch from ball played back into the 22 equals no gain in ground.
Law 19 – Quick (lineout) throw permitted in any direction except forward.
Law 19 – Positioning of player in opposition to the player throwing in to be two metres away from lineout and the line of touch.
Law 20 – Five-metre offside line at the scrum.
Law 20 – Scrum-half offside line at the scrum.
Shannon Fraser is the former Waratahs Kicking Coach and Fiji RWC Backs Coach
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