Continuing the Experimentation
In October, Cambridge University Colleges Rugby will begin its twelfth season as the Rugby Football Union’s Laws Laboratory. Since 1996, it has been the RFU’s main research centre for the Laws of the Game. Acting independently at first, it now operates within the framework of the Laws Reform Project initiated by the International Rugby Board in 2006.
Experimental variations are currently being conducted world wide. Following initial trials in Stellenbosch University, South Africa, the research has been carried on in New Zealand, Australia and Scotland. There is a prospect that significant changes to the Laws will be made next season after the Conference post the 2007 Rugby World Club. The intention is to make the game and the Laws simpler to understand by players and spectators. It is also thought that results should not be determined by refereeing decisions and kicked goals but by the skill of players used in compliance with the Laws.
We have contributed information, ideas and data through the RFU Laws Committee to the IRB about these experiments based upon our experiences of them for over a decade.
Following on from the trials in last season’s County Championship, our work over the next few months will focus on the scrummage engagement and putting the ball in straight, referee management of a 5m offside line for outside players at the scrummage, keeping players on their feet at the breakdown and no limitation or equality of numbers required at . lineouts.
Despite the introduction of the “touch” stage for the adult game, the powers that be still consider that the force of the engagement needs to be further reduced for the safety and well being of front row players. There is concern that contest for possession starts too soon before the ball is introduced. This leads to collapses, wheeling and reset after reset. The aim of the research will be to see how best to achieve safer engagements and delay contest until the ball is thrown in. Restoring honesty to the put is equally as important. There will be a hierarchy of penalties for crooked feeds. A Free Kick will punish the first offence, a Penalty Kick the second and a Yellow Card the third. Scrum halves be warned.
With today’s predominance of defence over attack,, the offside line at scrummages will be set 5m behind the hindmost foot. This space can be policed by a team of three as it was in the County Championship. Our task is to devise a protocol for the referee officiating alone as so often is the case in the Community game.
In an effort to keep players on their feet at the breakdown, the definition attached to Law 14 (Ball on the Ground - No Tackle) will be applied in Law 15 (Tackle). That definition includes the statement that “The game is to be played by players who are on their feet. A player must not make the ball unplayable by falling down”. The wording of Law 15. 7 (d) for the experimental variation states
“No player may fall on or over players lying on the ground after a tackle with the ball between or near to them”.
A player who does fall will be deemed to have fallen intentionally unless the fall was caused by the action of an opponent.
Too often we see arriving players dive to seal off the ball claiming there was no opponent against whom to ruck. This excuse will not be accepted. The aim is to avoid pile ups and allow the ball at the tackle to be played and won legitimately with the hands, fairly.
Thus the referees who will be managing the matches in Division One of the College Leagues will have to be on the ball, literally and figuratively. Experienced referees at Level 8 and above will be needed. The work promises to be interesting and worthwhile.
If you would like to contribute as a referee, an observer or have ideas to improve the game through law changes, please contact me, Mike Dimambro,
September 2007
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