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Old 02-22-2007, 01:40 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Default Laying down a new law

The brainchild of former Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen and former top New Zealand referee Paddy O'Brien could result in a shakeup of rugby's nightmarish laws next year.
Macqueen and O'Brien, now the International Rugby Board's referees' manager, are in Sydney to explain the experimental law changes being introduced in Australia's new domestic competition this year.
Players in South Africa and Scotland are also trialling aspects of the proposed law changes which will be submitted to the IRB after this year's World Cup.
"We think the game is too complex for the average punter back home. We want a game which is simple for players, coaches, referees and spectators to understand," O'Brien said.

"There's something fundamentally wrong ... when two people are watching a game, you're cheering for the Blue side and you think No 7 Red should be penalised, and your mate thinks No 7 Blue should be. In fact, they both could be under the present laws."
Macqueen, one of rugby's most innovative thinkers, first approached O'Brien in Dublin to discuss his ideas.
The result was a group of former players, coaches and referees not currently involved in the game who took a blank canvas and looked to simplify the rules that mystify even the staunchest rugby expert.
The group included former Springboks coach Ian McIntosh and French rugby legend Pierre Villepreux.
Macqueen said early experiments of the laws at South Africa's Stellenbosch University meant more playing time, fewer scrums and more of a scrap for possession at the breakdown. "The contest for possession is what makes rugby what it is," he said.
O'Brien said the tackled ball law was the most troublesome, and the group aimed to simplify that area and make it more a free-for-all.
"What we're saying is if Richie McCaw and George Smith are both on their feet, go for it and the best man wins - take that subjectivity out of the ref's call."

Key Changes
* At a scrum, the defending backline must be 5m behind the hindmost foot. Anyone can play the ball at the breakdown, as long as they are on their feet and entered the ruck or maul from the hindmost foot.
* If the ball is unplayable at the breakdown, the team that didn't take the ball in receives a free kick.
* Defending players can pull down a maul.
* The ball is deemed kicked out on the full if it has been passed back into the 22m line.
* A quick throw-in can be thrown anywhere except forward.
* Neither team determines numbers in the lineout and there is no maximum number, only a minimum of two players a team.
- NZPA
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Old 04-24-2007, 05:07 AM   #2 (permalink)
Brisvegas
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I don't like the scrum rule, for one it would be a bit hard to enforce because the scrum moves so teams would have to move with it, however that is not the biggest problem. This is all about the rules being too complicated its not like that is even a complicated rule so I don't what giving the attacking team 5 metres more room is going to do apart from disadvantage the defending team.

If the ball is unplayable it should not be a free kick to the attacking team, it could have been their fault that the ball was unplayable, the rule should definately stay the same there.

I'm really not to fussed either way on the 22m rule or the quick line-out rule.

The lineout rule is also not to my fansy as the attacking team should get to choose how many players they want in the lineout not the defending team, the attacking team should be able to pick the numbers and what they want to do as they should get the advantage.

The colasing of the maul one is probably the one I like the least, that can be very dangerous for both teams and could end up in a very serious injury. I don't know what they were thinking when they changed a rule that is usaully commited as a professional foul in ones 22; that could result in a yellow or even red card to making it simply legal. This rule could and probably will take away almost completely the attacking option of a maul and be very dangerous.

In conclusion I don't like these rules very much and don't see how they could help the game that much so in all honesty I hope they don't get incorperated into our gret game.

Btw thanks a lot for the info.
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