21/05/2007
NZPA
Fewer penalties, fewer lineouts, more actual playing time and more tries have emerged from the law changes being trialled in Sydney club rugby and soon to get an airing in New Zealand.
In Sydney's premier club competition at the weekend, 59 tries were scored in six matches.
Warringah coach Andrew Cox and Manly coach Brian Melrose both gave the changes the thumbs-up in a panel discussion on Fox Sports' Inside Rugby programme.
"You've got less influence from the referee and the best team's winning. It's been a real positive for the game," Melrose said.
The new laws being trialled in Sydney include:
* The ball can't be kicked out on the full if it's passed back inside the 22m line.
* Numbers in lineouts aren't restricted -- a minimum of two but no maximum -- which encourages more quick throw-ins.
* At the scrum, both backlines must be 5m behind the hindmost foot.
* Most infringements are now free kicks instead of penalties. Offside and foul play are still penalised, with yellow cards still used for repeat offences.
The experimental law variations are expected to be trialled in New Zealand later this year, according to former Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen, who initiated the `ELVs' 18 months ago, along with New Zealand's former test referee and current International Rugby Board (IRB) referees' manager Paddy O'Brien.
A final draft of proposed law changes will be presented to an IRB committee after this year's World Cup.
If changes are approved, Macqueen said the earliest they would occur would be mid-year Tests in 2008.
Melrose said fewer shots at goal and less pressure on referees, who were faced with contentious match-deciding penalty decisions, was a positive. More fitness work for players at training was now paramount.
"Last week some of our Super 14 players came back and after 20 minutes they were gasping a bit," Melrose said.
"The laws keep the ball in play then fatigue kicks in and the more instinctive and creative players, and the athletes in the game, can be exposed which has to be a great thing."
Cox welcomed the relaxed lineout laws and the 22m kick rule.
"It's a terrific move. The ball stays in play a whole lot more. The quick throw-in and counter attack is much more attractive to the players and certainly the crowds."
But it has meant an adjustment in game plans.
Cox said in the first game under the new laws, his team were only awarded three lineouts which were the primary starting point for set plays.
With fewer lineouts, Melrose suggested this could lead to future locks being shorter and more athletic as the game speeds up.
"The set piece is always going to be part of the game -- there may be minimally fewer lineouts. No doubt the ball in play may see the body shape change by a couple of kilos."
But Macqueen stressed the law variations were experimental and would be tweaked again if scrums and lineouts had less impact.
"It's very important that we keep the shape of the game. Behind all the decisions we're making it's imperative we don't change the body shapes. Rugby's a game for all shapes and sizes and that's unique about the game."
Teams with powerful scrums were now benefiting from the backlines being 5m further back and Macqueen said No 8/halfback moves were now more common.
The nightmare breakdown area has also seen several proposed changes but they have only been trialled in Scotland so far.
It makes the tackled ball scenario less complicated and more of a free-for-all contest for possession. Hands in the ruck are allowed, as long as the player arrives from the hindmost foot.
*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog
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