WALLABIES winger Lote Tuqiri has labelled as "short-sighted" remarks by Springboks flyer Bryan Habana that the new laws on trial in the Super 14 are making rugby union become more like rugby league.
Tuqiri, who played his first game under experimental law variations [ELVs] in NSW's 20-3 Super 14 round one win over the Hurricanes in Sydney last Saturday, believes union will prosper by being faster and less stop-start. He also applauds the way the game under the ELVs requires players to be better all-round athletes than before.
Tuqiri's comments come after Habana, the Bulls winger, criticised the laws for taking away the many breaks in the game, rather than welcoming them.
"I don't know what he is frustrated about. He [should] like the fast pace of it, the fact he is a speed merchant," said Tuqiri, who flies to New Zealand with the Waratahs tomorrow to play the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday.
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