Why we must embrace Twiggy's rugby rules

Twiggy Forrest and his Global Rapid Rugby advisers are not trying to please the average Roar rugby poster, who would no doubt be a rusted-on lifetime rugby follower.

GRR is aiming to attract West Australian kids and those in Asia to the new competition. Most of these kids and their young parents have never seen a game of rugby in their lives – the kids in Western Australia are growing up on a diet of fast-moving AFL, basketball and T20 cricket, and their counterparts in Asia probably follow football and basketball. On the Sub-continent they’re feasting T20.

I am originally a Saffer who moved to Western Australia 33 years ago, so as a baby boomer I grew up in Port Elizabeth on a diet of rugby. At school I was a second rower and later a tighthead prop. As a forward you’re always involved in the game. Jumping in the lineouts, contesting the ball in scrums, rucks and mauls, and trying to bust through the opposition, with the occasional joy of scoring your own rare try.

As a slow-moving forward I seldom did much tackling, but what fun when you broke through their lineout and caught their cheeky scrumhalf as he received the ball.

There were no reserves or substitutions in those days, so when I did my ankle I had to limp through the rest of the game, or else my side was down to 14 players. When our slack backs fumbled our hard-won ball, it would be called a knock-on, even although the ball did not even touch the ground. Some of the opposition schools used to play boring ten-man rugby, where their flyhalf banged every ball he received straight into touch on the full from anywhere.

Fortunately the laws of rugby evolved and changed over the years. Reserves could replace injured players. An untidy catch of ball was only regarded as knock-on if the ball dropped forwards onto the ground or into another player. You could not kick into touch on the full from inside your own 22. There have been many other law variation and improvements in my rugby lifetime.

Then of course we had the fast, shortened format of rugby come into being. This format was initially really popular in Hong Kong, and there is now a world series of that format, which has been accepted as an Olympic sport.

Cricket has also evolved and changed since I was at school. One-day games, T20, covered pitches, drop-in pitches et cetera. A certain billionaire called Kerry Packer was responsible for many of the changes as he packaged cricket up for commercial TV.

At the age of 35 I moved to Western Australia and was introduced to brand-new sports: Aussie Rules football, basketball and rugby league via my TV. I had never seen a single game of these three sports codes. I find basketball and league a bit repetitive, but these days I enjoy and understand AFL and watch most West Coast Eagles games.

Perth has always had a vibrant club rugby competition and I was very involved with one of the clubs for many years. Then the Western Force got a spot in Super Rugby and rugby really took off in Perth and WA. However, sadly our beloved Force was unfairly axed from Super Rugby by the Rugby Australia last year.

Enter another billionaire, Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, who says he’ll start his own competition called Global Rapid Rugby. Twiggy is aiming GRR at the massive young Asian market, which has been exposed to little professional rugby outside Japan and Hong Kong.

(Daniel Carson/Getty Images)

Remember when you read these rapid rugby law variations that Twiggy has involved rugby people like Matt Hodgson, Michael Lynagh and media marketing people to come with these changes to sell rugby to millions of young kids and their parents in Asia. The World Rugby council have signed off on these changes, so they also recognise there is a need for change to sell rugby into new markets.

The changes, in summary, are as follows:

• A reduction in playing time of five minutes each half to 35 minutes.
• No direct kicks for touch from inside the 22 metres to encourage ball in hand counter-attack.
• A power try, scored from a move starting in the 22 metres, will be worth nine points with no conversion.
• Killing the ball for a penalty will not end the power try move.
• Penalties reduced from three to two points.
• Defence a further five metres back at the scrum.
• A side retains possession if the ball is kicked from their own 40 metres and bounces out in the opposition 22 metres.
• No ‘mark call in the 22 metres.
• Ten Rolling substitutions.
• Reduced time for kick-offs and penalties.
• Red-carded players can be replaced after 15 minutes.
• An orange card system for match review officials.
• A bonus points system for scoring will be in place.

Many of these changes will be accepted in the future by us old rugby fans, just as have we got to appreciate other changes and improvements to rugby and cricket over the past 50 years, but let me know what you think about these modifications to our game.