The new Super 14 rulings should be worldwide

 
Spiro Zavos Columnist

By , 18 Feb 2010 Spiro Zavos is a Roar Expert

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Brumbies Mark Gerrard flies throgh the air after scoring. AAP Image/Alan Porritt

Brumbies Mark Gerrard flies throgh the air after scoring. AAP Image/Alan Porritt

It is early days, but on the evidence of a number of the matches in the first round of the Super 14 tournament, the new rulings have been a great success.

We need the referees, especially those in South Africa, a rugby nation that has a history of assaulting referees, to stick with their convictions and the rulings even if locals resent their errant sides being correctly penalised.

And we want the northern hemisphere authorities, too, to give up their traditional negativism towards making rugby an attractive, combative and high-energy spectacle and endorse the new Super 14 rulings for their next season. There is some evidence to suggest that this should (and will?) happen.

The new rulings were devised by the SANZAR referees boss Lyndon Bray, fellow referees and the Super 14 coaches.

The changes, put briefly, are: first, in the tackle ball situation the tackler must release the tackled player and roll away before contesting for the ball.

Second: defending players must be obviously behind the last feet on their side of the ruck.

Third: the scrum protocols regarding binding, making the hit and the props positioning straight rather than boring in must be observed.

Fourth: players cannot move forward if they are in front of the kicker before being put onside and they must withdraw from the 10m circle where the ball is landing.

The referees have been instructed to show zero tolerance to players who deliberately or lazily infringe on these laws.

In the Western Force-ACT Brumbies match, for instance, at a crucial time when the Force were coming back in the match, Nathan Sharpe was correctly penalised for deliberately falling on to the wrong side of the ruck while making a tackle.

The quality of all the matches in the first round, even at Durban where the players had to contend with high humidity, driving rain and a slippery ball, was very high.

Admittedly, the Hurricanes were able to kick 9 penalties to defeat the Blues.

But the game itself was an entertaining one and the Blues, despite scoring more tries, deserved to lose because of their inept and incorrect play at the tackle.

In the Crusaders-Highlanders match there were only four penalties in a game where both sides (and the scoreline did not reflect how well the Highlanders played played) ran the ball with confidence, pace and skill to produce an exciting contest.

The Queensland Reds-NSW Waratahs match was the best clash these two teams have played in many years. The Reds lost because their scrum was found wanting when the proper protocols were applied and, also, because the front line players just ran out of energy at the end.

The new rulings will mean quicker and more certain ball from the rucks and mauls and many more phases for sides to attack and defend against.

This brings the fitness factor as well as the skill factor into play.

I was very impressed with the Bulls scoring 6 tries against a Cheetahs side that will beat some good teams this year. Last year the Bulls, except on rare occasions like the Super 14 final against a tired and poorly prepared Chiefs side, kicked the leather off the ball.

Both Fourie du Preez, one of rugby’s greatest halfbacks, in my opinion, and Morne Steyn, ran the ball cleverly most of the time and kicked only occasionally, and with great purpose.

This last point is important.

Last year, under the way the laws were ruled it paid sides just to kick the ball away whenever they got. They would force a penalty by enveloping a defender in the tackle and not allowing him to release the ball. As a variation, they scored tries occasionally (Bryan Habana, in particular) by knocking away the catcher and pouncing on the loose ball.

Now with the off-side laws being properly enforced and with the side with the ball having more rights (and rightly so) than the defending side, it makes no sense in kicking the ball away. We saw this in the Crusaders-Highlanders match when the Crusaders scored a crucial try when the High;anders just booted the ball away to get rid of inside their own 22.

I was amazed during the Reds-Queensland match to see that the players and, presumably the coaches, had not identified this simple fact when players had the opportunity to kick for touch from inside their 22, and did not do it. When will the penny drop that inside your 22 just kick the ball out.

This particularly applies to my current pet hate, the box kick by the halfback. Teams should give this tired old ploy away.

When Lyndon Bray was asked about how he thought the new rulings went, he said he was ‘encouraged.’ He pointed out, too, that the IRB with their refereeing boss Paddy O’Brien had been involved in working out the new rulings.

This gave him confidence that to try to get the changes in place, worldwide, by next year’s Six Nations tournament. And, therefore, one would think for the 2011 Rugby World Cup tournament.

Bray made the interesting point, too, that “even sceptics like the British media, like Stephen Jones” could be won over to the new rulings as rugby looked to better itself as a spectacle with the World Cup looming up.

“Interestingly he (Jones) wrote an article the other week after the first round of the Six Nations and the essence was that rugby needed to be far tighter to law. I would think that if he’s consistent to that he would sing off the same sheet as us.”

This is a very good point.

The article Bray referred was Jones’ Rolling Maul column in the UK Sunday Times in which the controversial journalist listed his 10 laws and by-laws referees no longer bother to apply. On the list were all the laws the new rulings require to be enforced.

One of the comments on Jones’ article by Al Rul Sheng made valid points that Jones himself and European rugby officials must accept if they want their rugby to be less boring: “Interesting to watch the contrast with SH rugby. I watched three game with weekend and it was patently obvious they can read and know the rules. Forwards on their feet at the breakdown, few scrum re-sets, a willingness to run and pass. AND no eye-gouging.”

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