Three new international rugby rules being unveiled on the upcoming series in Europe have been given the thumbs up by All Blacks veterans Andrew Hore and halfback Piri Weepu.
Rule number one: The ball has to be used within five seconds of it being made available at the back of a ruck with a warning from the referee to use it. If the ball isn’t used then a scrum will be awarded to the opposition.
Two: The referee’s scrum engagement message will be “crouch, touch, set”, taking a step out of the process.
Three: An extra prop forward is to be fielded on the reserve bench, extending the team size from 22 to 23.
Hooker Hore and Weepu say there haven’t been any extra sessions at trainings to polish up on the changes prior to the Test against Scotland at Murrayfield on Monday (AEDT) but both agree the All Blacks will benefit.
“We like to speed the game up anyway, so I don’t think it’s going to play too much into the game,” Weepu said.
“We haven’t discussed any scenarios yet, if we have to close the game out if the ball’s only allowed to sit there for five seconds, but I think most of the boys have a good enough understanding to know that it can’t sit there for that long and if we’re mucking around, to expect the ball if they’re close enough to the ruck.”
Hore said the All Blacks have a trick up their sleeve which the Scots won’t learn about until game day.
“At this stage we have a little bit of a plan and hopefully it works.”
Hore also believes having an extra prop on the bench will keep the competition rolling for the full 80 minutes.
“We’ve had a few issues with reset scrums in the past so anything we can do to sort that would be good.
“(Loosehead specialist) Wyatt Crockett’s pretty pumped about it, he’s been the extra prop for a while, so he’s going to get out there – I think it’s going to be pretty good.”
deanB
Guest
actually think its a bit naf this darkness thing but if it comes from outside of nz, then i guess it describes how some opposition fans can feel when their boys are under the cosh from the abs. Re the handling skills of various teams, does the heavily developed physiques of some players contribute to a lack of finesse at speed? A lot of players are all chest,shoulders and biceps compared with the more 'natural' bodies of a decade or two ago. Might be time to bring back the old passing bricks training technique circa 1970. Ha!
Jerry
Guest
Australians.
Atawhai Drive
Guest
Leonard Cohen, on his most recent album Old Ideas. 'I thought the past might last me, but the darkness got that too.'
atlas
Guest
but 'The Evening' doesn't sound at all intimidating The only place I've seen 'the darkness' is on this forum Granted, living in Asia I don't see too much NZ news but cannot recall ever seeing it in a NZ Herald or Dominion etc sports review. Who started it?
Bazza all black supporter
Guest
Hahaha, fair enough. Hopefully they will click against out northern cousins. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download it now [http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-roar/id327174726?mt=8].
deanB
Guest
if ab's dont improve their handling it wont be long before they'll be rebadged 'fumbling in the darkness'. If they were any less of a team those skill errors would have cost them wins. It is also a sign that this squad has yet to completely gel. The 'near darkness' perhaps?
Bazza Allblack Supporter
Roar Rookie
Anything that speeds up the game will work in The Darkness's favour...
deanB
Guest
rod macqueen and george gregan must be having a chuckle over the 5sec rule. Gregan at his peak, was clearing ball as tacklers rolled away. That made for exciting, dynamic rugby that upset defensive alignments. Aaron smith is emulating that style and every other side will hopefully develop no.9s of that ilk.Less trench warfare, more cavalry charges!
atlas
Guest
there was an example on a UK channel - Sky or Eurosport, showing a timer while Genia and co 'got ready' Eleven seconds. May not sound long, but while he stood there looking right and left, backs wandered in to place possibly discussing which planned move they'd use, the opposition defensive line standing there waiting, and waiting, time for a cup of tea and a biccie just about.
allblackfan
Guest
Jock M, look at how long Genia allowed the ball to sit back at the back of the ruck and that's with full contest! BTW Contest hasn't changed, it just that the Wallabies don't contest the breakdown all the time. By the time Genia had his players set up to attack (and usually too deep with TPN and Sharpe acting as blockers), the opposition defence had time to set so by the time the Wallaby ballcarrier was tackled, he was behind the advantage line. The Wallabies ended up going backwards on attack. I may not have played rugby but even I know that if you go backwards trying to run the ball up then there is something seriously wrong and change is required. Genia should have changed his game on his own, not have the laws change for him. BTW: This rule also applies to mauls -- no more use it or lose it, more like use it in 5 seconds or lose it. The ITM Cup showed that this rule, combined with the scrum engagement change, sped up the game noticeably. The new lineout throw-in rule also helps. Two other things sped the game in NZ which had nothing to do with the new rules. One was the return of rucking. The refs (most non-internationals) allowed it to happen albeit keeping a close eye on proceedings. There were some vigorous cleanouts!! The other thing was that the refs backed themselves to make the call on tries or rely on their touchies. There was far less reliance on the TV ref.
Jock M
Guest
Rugby is becoming more contrived and farcical by the day. We now have the stop watch on how long the ball can sit at the back of a ruck! If the full contest was reinstated with some decent Law changes, none of this silliness would be neccessary. Rugby is suffering from the same ailments as one day cricket-tampering with Laws and the basics of a game only leads to further unintended consequences and farce.
Michael Fahey
Guest
Laws.