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Along with the NRC draw and sponsorship announcements, the ARU today announced some law variations they are looking to trial for this year’s National Rugby Championship.
All nine teams will discuss the 12 laws that have been proposed and the final announcement on which ones have been chosen will be made soon.
The changes being looked at are a combination of commonly lamented laws, with the goal of most changes being to speed up the game and maximise the time the ball is in play. Other key considerations are the number of tries scored in a match, with some changes attempting to discourage penalty kicks at goal.
The final theme that rings across a number of these changes is reducing the ‘quibbliness’, for want of a better phrase, of some aspects of the laws of the game as well as the time the ball is in play.
Key changes in that respect are a scrum change, where the halfback can’t move beyond the halfway point of the scrum, and must stay within one metre of the contest. This will mean the halfback can’t pester the opposition halfback at the base of the scrum, but also can’t drift out and add an extra man to the defensive line. You would imagine this change would be welcomed by many rugby fans.
Another one is the change to the lineouts, where if there is no jumper thrown up by the team not throwing it in, there can’t be a ‘not straight’ throw called against the thrower.
They are also looking to “discourage overly speculative shots at goal from long range, and encourage kicking to touch to attack instead” by giving the defending team a scrum from wherever an unsuccessful attempt at penalty goal has been taken.
More controversial proposed changes will include the change to the mark law, whereby a mark can be called from any position on the field. This is aimed at ridding the game of tactically poor and non-contestable kicking.
Other law changes are aimed at minimising dead time during the game, and having the ball in play for longer. They include time limits on goal kicks, allowing the lineout to be played from a penalty kick to touch after half or full time, and bonus points only being awarded for finishing the game with three or more tries more than your opponents.
The full list of law variations ARU are looking at trialling, from the ARU:
| Competition points | ||
| 1 | Instead of 4 try bonus point, winning team is awarded a bonus point for finishing 3 or more tries ahead of their opponents | To encourage try-scoring, and retain interest in matches even after 4 tries are scored by one or either team |
| Kicks for goal | ||
| 2 | Reduced time limits for conversions and penalty kick attempts | To speed up the game and increase ball-in-play time |
| 3 | After a successful or unsuccessful penalty goal attempt, play is restarted with a scrum to the non-kicking team at the place of the penalty | – To discourage overly speculative shots at goal from long range, and encourage kicking to touch to attack instead
– To discourage defending teams from giving away penalties inside their red zone |
| Scrum | ||
| 4 | Time limit for both teams to form a scrum | To speed up the game and increase ball-in-play time |
| 5 | No option to kick for goal from a scrum penalty (kick to touch allowed). If penalty becomes a ‘repeated infringement’ then kick at goal is allowed. | To increase ball-in-play time, but reward dominant scrums when their opponents repeatedly infringe |
| 6 | Scrum-half of non-feeding team is compulsory, must stay within 1m of the scrum, and cannot move past the mid-line of the scrum | To ensure even numbers in backline contests, and improve the quality of ball distribution at scrum |
| Foul Play | ||
| 7 | If a yellow card is given for repeated team infringement (excluding dangerous play), the non-offending captain chooses the opposition player who is temporarily suspended for 10 mins | To further discourage repeated infringements by teams |
| Tackle/Ruck | ||
| 8 | Players arriving through the gate may ‘drive out’ opponents past the ruck, creating more space behind the ruck for attack | To encourage more defending players into defending the channel behind the ruck, and therefore create more space out wide for attack |
| Lineout | ||
| 9 | If non-throwing team does not contest for the ball, the straightness of the throw is not considered | To ensure the lineout remains a contest, but remove a technical decision that often has little material effect on play |
| Kicking | ||
| 10 | A ‘mark’ can be awarded any place on the field | To discourage non-contestable and/or tactically poor kicking |
| 11 | After half-time and full-time, if awarded a Penalty Kick, you can kick to touch and play the lineout | To discourage teams from giving away penalties at the end of a game |
| 12 | Free Kick for kick-off infringements as per Sevens | To speed up the game and increase ball-in-play time |
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.