Rugby Focused Law Changes - May 9th

[RemainingInTheGame]

Rugby fan-focused law changes confirmed | World Rugby

The largest reimagination of rugby’s entertainment value continues to progress with the World Rugby Council approving a package of law amendments that will come into effect from 1 July, 2024.

www.world.rugby

All seem pretty reasonable to me!

I'm interested in the '1 stop maul' trial - could have a significant impact on the 5m lineout and maul for try (maybe Hooker will no longer be the high scoring position that it's become!)

 

[Volun-selected]

On paper, looks good - and should help with the kick tennis. Let’s see where the law of unintended consequences leads

Quick interpretation/game management question for the ex-tight 5’s among us:
Where does “loitering” end and “I’m so gassed I’m sucking air through my arsehole“ begin?

 

[Phil E]

Quick interpretation/game management question for the ex-tight 5’s among us:
Where does “loitering” end and “I’m so gassed I’m sucking air through my arsehole“ begin?

Being offside is not itself an offence. It's the interfering with play that gets you pinged. If a player was lying on the floor, or maybe on one knee, I'm probably not (never say never) going to ping him....maybe.

But a lot depends on the level of the game as well.

 

[Shelflife]

The inability to take a scrum off a FK will definitely cause problems.

5m scrum attacking team are very dominant and are expecting a pushover try, defending team simply engage early and give away the FK.

I know that we can give a pen for a deliberate infringement but that's opening another can of worms.

 

[Phil E]

The inability to take a scrum off a FK will definitely cause problems.

5m scrum attacking team are very dominant and are expecting a pushover try, defending team simply engage early and give away the FK.

I know that we can give a pen for a deliberate infringement but that's opening another can of worms.

They get one free kick for engaging or pushing early, after that I go straight to penalties.

 

[didds]

They get one free kick for engaging or pushing early, after that I go straight to penalties.

thats what YOU do.

Will that however be universal?

And maybe - just maybe - that saves the ONE try that saves the game for the pushing early side...

Frankly that no FKs to scrums thing is drafted by somebody yet again who hasn't the foggiest.
Long playing record time - FKs outside of 22s are useless and toothless. Instead of 9 oppo all concentrated in one small area of the pitch, they are now all spread across the pitch ready to tackle. Before we even get into the area of "we'll concede a scrum FK for early shove to get away from the pressure scrum scenario.
The REAL area that would make a difference here is the relatively recent concept of the dominant side at a scrum winning a penalty just for being better scrummagers. Take away PKs for shoving the oppo back then sideways and you remove issues around scrum resets and offences. But what do I know? I'm not twelve years old or more interested in what wine to have with the fish course.

 

[Phil E]

thats what YOU do.

Will that however be universal?

And maybe - just maybe - that saves the ONE try that saves the game for the pushing early side...

Frankly that no FKs to scrums thing is drafted by somebody yet again who hasn't the foggiest.
Long playing record time - FKs outside of 22s are useless and toothless. Instead of 9 oppo all concentrated in one small area of the pitch, they are now all spread across the pitch ready to tackle. Before we even get into the area of "we'll concede a scrum FK for early shove to get away from the pressure scrum scenario.
The REAL area that would make a difference here is the relatively recent concept of the dominant side at a scrum winning a penalty just for being better scrummagers. Take away PKs for shoving the oppo back then sideways and you remove issues around scrum resets and offences. But what do I know? I'm not twelve years old or more interested in what wine to have with the fish course.

I imagine It's a law written for TV, to try and increase ball in play time.

 

[didds]

oh absolutely.

though the end result is all the games that are NOT on TV - approximately 99.999999999999999999999999999% of them globally - will have to have the same set of laws.

 

[jdeagro]

Perhaps a little pedantic, but regarding the wording changes related to the new offsides on kicks laws seem to have become more contradictory than clearer with this minor change:

Moves forwards towards the ball; or

If you're offsides from a kick, and the opposing team kicks back, now to avoid being a loiterer you'd have to move [backwards] towards the ball (or particularly the ball carrier of your team).

 

[Harry]

10.7 Other than under Law 10.4c, an offside player can be put onside when:
a. An onside team-mate of that player moves past the offside player and is within or has re-entered the playing area.
b. An opponent of that player:
i. Carries the ball five metres; or
ii. Passes the ball; or
i. Kicks the ball; or
ii. Intentionally touches the ball without gaining possession of it.

So fumble the catch and everyone is onside ?

 

[Not Kurt Weaver]

ii. Intentionally touches the ball without gaining possession of it.

So fumble the catch and everyone is onside ?

Nope not everyone

 

[Harry]

So if red kick from deep and blue Full Back fumbles the catch, all Red are now onside but all blues in front of their FB are offside?

 

[Dickie E]

So if red kick from deep and blue Full Back fumbles the catch, all Red are now onside but all blues in front of their FB are offside?

Yep. But that's not new

 

[Not Kurt Weaver]

So if red kick from deep and blue Full Back fumbles the catch, all Red are now onside but all blues in front of their FB are offside?

not completely true, blue players who did not comply completely with 10.4 are still offside

 

[Volun-selected]

I’m also intrigued by a couple of the closed law trials they’re going to test in July at the WR U20 Championship, U20 Trophy and Pacific Nations Cup, which includes the 20-min RC replacement.

• Revised on- and off-field sanctions process increasing simplicity, consistency and fan understanding. This features the combination of strong automatic off-field red card sanctions and the ability to replace a red-carded player after 20 minutes.
• Introduction of the 30-second shot clock for scrum and lineout setting and a maximum of 60 seconds for conversions [a reduction of 30 seconds] aligning with the time permitted for penalty kicks at goal.
• Protection of the nine at the base of the scrum, ruck and at the maul following successful trials in Major League Rugby in the USA and in elite and community competitions in New Zealand. The nine will not be able to be played while the ball is still near a tackle, ruck or maul, and the offside line at the scrum for the non-putting in scrum-half will be the middle of the tunnel.
• Ability to mark the ball inside the 22m line from a restart, promoting attacking options.
• The ball must be played after the maul has been stopped once, not twice.
• Play on at a lineout if ball not thrown straight but only if lineout is uncontested, aiding the flow of the game.

The ones I’m interested in are protecting the 9, and the one-stop maul. I‘m curious both in how successful they are deemed and also what interesting “consequences“ are uncovered. The 9 law is already in US MLR and I think Super Rugby (which I can’t access) but intrigued once it gets out wider to teams playing across different leagues to see how they adapt.

 

[SimonSmith]

I find some of these dispiriting, and I worry not well thought through.

The croc roll going is a Good Thing. But now what? How does the jackler get dislodged? Are we at risk now of more dangerous clear outs at the break down? Are jacklers going to lower their head even more so they're almost impossible to dislodge? And of that's the case, how far away are we from going back to the old law that hands have to come off the ball once a ruck has been formed in order to maintain player safety?

Removing the scrum from the FK is just...it opens, for me, the question about just how far chasing the spectacle at the cost of the sport is going to go. If I have a dominant scrum, I want to use that; an effective attacking weapon has just been removed.

All in all, problems at the Elite level that don't exist at the community level are now being solved at the community level where they don't exist. Coaches and players at the Elite level are causing problems for the game lower down the ladder. It's past time to separate the two games.

 

[didds]

I

All in all, problems at the Elite level that don't exist at the community level are now being solved at the community level where they don't exist. Coaches and players at the Elite level are causing problems for the game lower down the ladder. It's past time to separate the two games.

This. A drum I've been banging (Im sure to all of you's sighing!) for years.

 

[Shelflife]

I agree with Simon up to the point of separating the two games.

Id take a much simpler approach and ask the elite refs to simply implement the laws that are there.

The professional scrums are a joke, the ball is now thrown into the 2nd row with the hooker effectively faking the actual hook. they are allowed to collapse with impunity and dominant teams are expected to play the ball away when the weaker team collapse.

If I reffed the scrums at my level like the Pros do, I would be removed from a player safety pov.

I'm not sure why Pro teams reluctance to scrum in a safe manner results in multiple law changes to accommodate them.

 

[Volun-selected]

Given the complaint that a FK outside the 22 is toothless, maybe we give it some teeth.

How about we allow the gain in ground even of outside the 22 - and if we want to make it bite harder still, do not allow a quick throw? Ok, the oppo is getting the lineout, but you can peg them right back and they can’t even go quickly to pull anything back.

Seems a decent deterrent to me.

 

[didds]

Can't disagree with that.

like an "old fashioned penalty" (plus the no QT etc)