The end of the year gives us a chance to look back, prettier for me than most of you I guess, and also look forward. Typically it’s a time where we look to make changes in our life, so why not in the laws of the game we love?
This impulse isn’t unique, you might have read a list here, that’s also been printed elsewhere, and makes an interesting read.
I have three main areas I would like to see changes made. Some of these are easier at the elite level, which is what I watch, but should be relatively easy to do in the community game with cheap and light technology (more on that later), some are easy to do at any level in my opinion, they’re mostly new interpretations or enforcement of existing laws.
The TMO
Obviously this is elite only, because only elite games have TMOs.
Really I only want two changes here, although their total impact will be pretty huge.
- The TMO can only call the referee’s attention to foul play or clear and obvious errors. A clear and obvious error is something where ONE replay convinces the referee and if it doesn’t, then it’s play on. In the match I watched just before starting writing the AR called a lineout in the wrong place, the TMO said “hang on, ball out on the full” showed the ref the ball bounced on the line, and back they went. Clear, fast, correct. Truly egregious errors get caught.
- The referee can ask the TMO to look at anything. Back to whatever started this set of phases at least, a set piece or a change in possession. Not sure about that pass five phases ago? TMO can check it out. But if the ref was happy, the TMO can’t go back under their own initiative.
Timekeeping
Personally I think the kick clock is a success. Some of that might be Farrell being the only player timed out! But, overall, it reduces time wasting and that’s good. So I’d like to see that extended in a batch of ways.
- Kicks from hand on a 30s clock. You decline to take the kick at goal, you have 30s to tap or kick for touch. Equally the opposition have to clear 10m back in that time.
- I think a 30s timer for a goal line dropout and a 60s timer for a kick from a mark and a 22 restart are reasonable but maybe that’s 30s too?
- In a similar vein, from the moment the referee gives the mark, 30s for the throw in at the lineout, 30s for the teams to be ready for the ref to call “crouch” at a scrum.
- And because we’ve got all these timers, the 5s from “use it” to the ball being played to be on an actual timer too.
- I think the sanction for all of these is a scrum to the opposition. Mostly as close to the place where the offence took place as possible, 5m scrum for a goal line drop out, but parallel with where the ball was, and scrum on the 15m line for the lineout time out. All of these have ref’s discretion to not start the timer for a player injured in the proximity of the mark and whatever else might affect the play that’s outside the player’s control obviously.
At elite level the fourth official or the TMO can do this. At the community level, a timer with four memories for 5s, 30s, 60s and 90s is, for example a free app I can download. Push the button and push again if they do it in time. Fussier than you currently have to do but not a nightmare.
The Breakdown
I have three changes here, and they’re all a bit different.
- Both mauls and rucks are described as pushing competitions in various places. So the players that don’t bind properly and pull on opponents to disrupt their ruck/maul should be penalised. Sanction: penalty first time, YC second time. Don’t be a dick.
- We’re seeing players deliberately try to trap tacklers on the wrong side of the breakdown and milk a penalty. That’s cynical, let’s treat it as such. Sanction: penalty the first time, with a team warning, YC each time thereafter.
- Kill the caterpillar. Once the ref calls “use it” you can’t join the ruck. (Ref’s discretion for players in the process of joining.) Sanction: free kick. There are still ways to protect the kicker – watch South Africa and Kitshoff in particular. He’d often take a position just onside and “ready to be mummified” with hands on opposite shoulders so he couldn’t tackle a player without the ball, then stand there, braced to block the player trying to charge the kick down. Because he doesn’t move and sets up onside it’s legal. And at least is quick!
And that’s it. When the “tackle below the base of the sternum” variation has played a bit more I expect we’ll see that adopted as a new law.
I want to see some data but I know in New Zealand it went so well they extended it. I’d like to see some changes to protect the tackler. We currently have one, about leading with the elbow that, mostly Australian falls foul of, at least at international level. That may be because it’s not refereed in Australia and it is in the Northern Hemisphere – we don’t see it often, maybe once or twice a year – but we don’t see it often because it draws a red card every time.
I would like to see law changes for turning the shoulder into the tackler’s head, lifting the knee into the tackler’s head and other actions the ball carrier takes that place the tackler at more risk of head injury. I don’t know how to phrase them and I don’t know what balance is required if the base of the sternum law comes into play.
A Scheduling Tweak
This isn’t to the laws, but I’d still like to see it. We all saw the “minnows” perform at the World Cup in October. They had some terrible results and some good ones but it was pretty noticeable that the teams that had had extra support from World Rugby did a bit better than those that didn’t. It was also pretty noticeable that most of the sides improved over the pool stages as they got used to playing together, playing in big stadia and the like. If you paid attention a lot, but not all, of the big teams put out their weaker sides against the minnows and some of those games were pretty competitive.
We’re already seeing some changes: in June, South Africa are playing two tests against Ireland, then one against Portugal. What I would like to see is a disruption of the tier two timetables, yes. So the shadow Six Nations, Pacific Nations Cup and the like don’t play against the tier one equivalents where they already do. And, in those senior competitions before each home game, the home side A-team plays a side from the tier two competition as the warm up. (I don’t mind if both the home and away senior sides put out A teams to play a minnows side). All the minnows get extra matches in the next cycle, and matches that aren’t 90-0 hopefully – most of them were much closer. They also get some extra money.
This isn’t a forever solution, maybe it’s an 8-12 year solution. But it gets a load of teams that want to improve games, money and exposure and isn’t that what it’s all about?
Some Good News?
I hope to see the women’s game at all levels grow. That would include England being beaten in the Women’s Six Nations for example, so that becomes more competitive. Les Bleues seem the only team likely this year. But in Premiership Women’s Rugby, which is notionally English, but is loaded with international players left, right and centre, at least one team has put some effort in to developing the fan base for their women’s team. Gloucester-Hartpury used to play on some scruffy other pitch. Now they play on, and regularly sell out, the main pitch at Kingsholm. Likewise, Harlequins regularly have “The Big Match” where they play at Twickenham, which is just over the road from their home ground of The Stoop. The exact format has changed, year to year, but it’s usually a double-header. This year the double-header was Quins women v Gloucester-Hartpury, then Quins men v Gloucester. It was a success in terms of seeing some great rugby, as well as a success financially. I’m hoping that we’ll see more success stories like this for women’s rugby in the years to come.
Happy New Year everyone! May the rugby goddess smile on you. Even if you’re a Tahs fan.
