Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Rapacious Mr. Batstove]

Sanzar, the body comprising the South African, New Zealand and Australian unions, announced from Sydney it had adopted "a range" of the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) for the 2008 Super 14 competition.

Experimental Law Variations to be applied in the 2008 Super 14:

1. Posts and flags around the field (ARC variation)

a. Corner posts will be positioned at the outside junction of the goal line and the touch-line.
i. If a player is in possession of the ball and touches a corner post he will not be in touch unless he touches the touchline or the ground beyond the touchline.
ii. If the ball is not being carried by a player and it touches the corner post the ball will be deemed to be touch in goal.

Inside the 22-metre line

2. When a defending player receives the ball outside the 22 metre line and passes, puts or takes the ball back inside the 22, the following can occur:
a. If the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is in line with where the ball was kicked.
b. If a tackle, ruck or maul is subsequently formed and the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is where the ball crossed the touch line.

Lineout

3. On a quick throw in, the ball can be thrown straight or backwards towards the defenders goal-line, but not forward towards the opposition goal line.

Breakdown (tackle/post tackle)

4. Players entering the breakdown area must do so through the gate.

5. Immediately the tackle occurs there are offside lines.

6. The halfback should not be touched unless he has his hands on the ball.

Scrum

7. The offside line for players who are not in the scrum and who are not the teams scrum half, is 5 metres behind the hindmost foot of the scrum.

Sanctions

8. For all offences other than offside, not entering through the gate, and Law 10-foul play, the sanction is a free-kick.

[Rapacious Mr. Batstove]

Personally I think these rule changes will be really positive for the game. It will certainly open the play up and make the game more free flowing.

As for the corner posts, I'm not really sure about that one. I guess they want to save time waiting for the video referee every time someone dives at the corner.

Stoked with the quick throw in to the line-out not needing to be straight. most refs were letting this go anyway these days.

Not touching the halfback was good. Will stop those dirty Jarpie forwards pulling the halfback into the ruck and killing the ball.

The tackle/break down rules have been cleared up a little but I can still see it being just as contentious. The Jarpies wanted the new laws to allow hands in ruck, but that would just end in tears and allow Shalk Burger to reduce his penalty count to 20 a match.

Overall, not bad stuff. Gives me a good reason to look forward to the Super 14 again.

[moff12]

These are some pretty good changes, I think they will make a real difference to the speed of the game. Especially the 'no passing back into the 22 rule' and free kicks instead of penalties. The 5m back from scrums is a good one too.

Hopefully these rules are implemented for internationals next year as well. I think it may take a fair bit of convincing to get the English to agree though.

I think they need to sort out the ruck/maul situation more though, at any one ruck/maul there are at least 2 or 3 offenses that could be penalised. It's just too subjective.

[Rapacious Mr. Batstove]

[Are they the lemmings]

Just for reference: I played the game back when lifting in the lineout was illegal, halfbacks actually put the ball square into the scrum and rucking wasn't just legal, it defined the game (usually on my torso and legs )

There has been a bit too much tinkering of the rules for my liking in the last decade, but these rules seem sensible.

But you know what (admittedly minor) detail of rugby makes me fume? What makes me want to shout at the TV screen? What makes me cringe at the pettiness of it all? The way, at any sort of break in play, players hide the ball or carry it away to prevent the team awarded possession getting it; the way they play some juvenile game of catch-it-if-you-can just to keep the ball away from the other team--and it's not even a quick-restart situation!

When I was young I swore I would rather die than say something containing the phrase "in my day", but I can't help it: that's not how rugby was played in my day.

Now where are my slippers, cardigan and pipe...?

[faster]

[yushin]

rules?...I didn't even know rugby had any rules...I just thought it was about a bunch of fat, overweight and unfit guys who didn't have the skill to play football crashing about into each other... (seriously...the problem with rugby is that it has so many rules and arcane laws for interpretation that it is virtually unintelligible...that's why it will never "catch on" as a mainstream sport...)

[shetan]

[riverboy]

Rugby doesn't have rules. It has laws. I like the changes.