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If you watched all six Super Rugby matches every week this season you may have noticed an extra 36 minutes back in your lives each weekend to mow the lawn or read more rugby stories on The Roar.
Super Rugby Pacific has announced the early findings from their law variations and claim they have created a “more fluid and entertaining spectacle for fans.”
In a statement, the competition organisers said “data from the first four rounds of the 2023 season shows that on average more than six minutes of ‘dead time’ has been removed from each game, with the average match duration reduced from 98 minutes to 91 minutes and 46 seconds.”
Major time saving have come from the introduction of the off-field yellow card review process, more efficient referee-player interactions and faster resumption of play following tries.
Organisers also gave credit to the LVs for an increase in points per match with the 61 ppm the highest in the 27-year history of Super Rugby.
Comparing 2022 season averages to the first four rounds of 2023:
Time taken to restart play after a try has reduced from 1min 53s to 52s.
Time taken for player substitutions each game has reduced from 1min 12s to 29s.
Time taken managing on-field warnings and cards has reduced from 1min 46s to 53s.
Total match duration from kick off to final whistle has reduced from 98min to 91min 46s.
Average points per match have increased from 53 points to 61 points
“We are thrilled to see the data bearing out the objectives of the law variations introduced for the 2023 season,” Super Rugby Pacific Tournament Director Matt Barlow said in the statement.
“Our goal was to create a more fluid spectacle for fans, both at ground and for those watching on television, and a faster and more enjoyable game for players, and we believe we have achieved that over the opening stages of the season.
“Specifically, we wanted to address stoppage time, particularly for reviewing foul play. Taking the TMO review process off-field, and off-screen, has made a significant impact for fans and players. Our Match Officials have also done a great job enforcing time limits on goal kicks, scrums, lineouts, rucks and restarts after tries. It all adds up.”
Referees have enforced 90-second time limits on conversions, 60 seconds for penalty kicks, 30 seconds for scrums and lineouts to be set, and five seconds for the ball to be used at rucks, while TMOs have only interrupted play for serious, clear and obvious incidents of foul play.
“Players and coaches are telling us the reduction in stoppage time has made the game more demanding from a physical perspective. We’ve seen high-scoring, fluid and entertaining matches and that’s a credit to the positive mindset with which our teams want to play,” Barlow said.
Former Wallaby turned Scotland international Jack Dempsey has re-signed for two more years with Glasgow Warriors but has revealed how he is keeping his Australian accent up to date.
The 28-year-old No.8 played for the Wallabies at the 2019 World Cup and will represent Scotland this time around after benefitting from relaxed eligibility laws.
“It was written on the wall once I finalised my decision with Scotland and where I wanted to spend my long-term future,” he told The Scotsman newspaper of the new Warriors deal.
“To be honest, there wasn’t much thinking needed. I’ve been happy since I came here in terms of the rugby side and settled well with the lads, the city and the country.
“I’m just really enjoying my time here. And looking not just at the Warriors but at what Gregor’s doing with Scotland, I think he’s got the best out of me as well. You have your tricky up and down seasons due to injury or form and I’ve experienced that in the past, so it’s about knowing when you’re in the right place and being aware of that and that’s the biggest thing for me.”
He said he still wanted to keep some ties with his homeland.
“I wouldn’t say I was a proper Glasgow boy – every morning I get on YouTube and keep my Australian accent going because I wouldn’t ever want to lose that! But I’m living in the West End [of Glasgow] as a few of the boys do, and a lot of the guys I’m closest to are the Aussie and Kiwi guys like Sione Tuipulotu, so that keeps you fresh and makes you less homesick if that makes sense.”
Western Force hooker Folau Fainga’a continues to battle an Achilles tendon injury and will take things day by day in a bid to play through the Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Achilles pain resulted in Fainga’a being a late scratching from the round-four defeat to the Highlanders in Invercargill, but the star Wallaby returned for last week’s 30-17 loss to the Blues.
The 27-year-old is expected to feature in Sunday’s clash with the second-placed Hurricanes in Palmerston North, but said his Achilles issue is still hanging around.
“I don’t really know what’s happening with it just yet,” Fainga’a told reporters.
David Porecki and Folau Fainga’a of the Wallabies run through drills during an Australia Wallabies Captain’s Run at Eden Park on September 23, 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
“We are just taking it day by day and just treating it as it goes.
“It’s one thing where it could be good today, and then waking up tomorrow it could be sore.
“We’ve got an awesome team here, the physiotherapist and our doctors, doing an awesome job keeping me updated and up to speed in terms of what I can do outside of the footy pitch to keep me on the field.”
The Force are aiming to finish their tough three-match NZ tour on a high, but they face an almighty task to topple a powerful Hurricanes unit laden with star players.
The Hurricanes rested All Blacks trio Tyrel Lomax, Dane Coles and Jordie Barrett last week, but they were still able to thump Moana Pasifika 59-0 in a brutal nine-try display.
Force centre Sam Spink, who returned from a hamstring injury last week, is embracing the challenge.
“One of the main things I was intrigued about with Super Rugby and excited to get over here for was for those kind of those challenges,” the Englishman said.
“You look at some of the stars and names around the comp, and they’re All Blacks, they’re Wallabies, they’re some of the most exciting players in the world.
“To challenge myself against some of the best players who can beat people (in attack) is only going to improve my game defensively.
“It’s a stacked (Hurricanes) backline to come up against, and I’m looking forward to ripping in.”
Spink is glad fellow Englishman Zach Kibirige, who has been playing on the wing, has joined him at the Force.
“He’s a mouthy bugger to be honest,” Spink said.
“He doesn’t stop talking all game, which is exactly what you need from the outside.
“He encourages me to feed on that information and keep talking to the people inside me.
“The louder he is, the more information I have from what’s outside me, whether that be in attack or defence.
“His comms are pretty great, and I’ve seen that rub off on other people in the squad.”
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.