Law Application Guidelines to speed up the game
Just before Christmas World Rugby issued a statement under the heading ‘Law Application Guidelines’, with the target of speeding the game up. They come into force of New Year’s Day. (www.world.rugby/news/778344/world-rugby-looks-to-enhance-the-flow-of-the-game-with-law-application-guidelines)
There is only one minor law change, WR sticking to its promise not to introduce any more till after the mens’ 2023 World Cup at the earliest. Instead, referees and players are reminded of time-limits already in place, lists the many areas where they apply, and re-defines other pinch points.
For elite-level rugby WR is in discussions with television companies to see if official clocks could be shown on screen so that the viewing public is aware of the time left available for events such as a penalty kick, a scrum or a line-out.
In a nutshell:
Conversions – 90 seconds
Penalties – 60 seconds
Set-scrum – 30 seconds
Line-outs – ‘without delay’ – hoho
The main culprits are men, which is why the ‘Shape of the Game’ conference in November 2022 was restricted to the men’s game. A similar conference will be held in early 2023 to discuss similar topics in the women’s game.
Analysts had demonstrated how little time was spent with the ball in play. In the women’s version there is much less delay, fewer reset scrums, faster rucks and so on. But even there, teams find ways of delaying the next phase of play if it suits their purpose.
All unions and competitions are asked to implement time-saving measures at every level.
WR has taken pains to define as closely as possible what is and is not permitted at debatable stages of the game.
We all have our own particular dislikes about the way the conventional match runs its course.
Front-row forwards can’t understand why the ball can be fed into the scrum between the second-row’s feet. Backs don’t enjoy delayed ball that allows the opposition to reorganise their defensive positions.
My pet-hate is the leisurely tea-party some 15 metres from a coming line-out, while the crowd and opposing forwards wait impatiently. Now WR has spoken: ‘Without delay.’ How long does a delay last?
Non-playing members of the community like water-carriers and TMOs have also come under the microscope; the former will no longer come galloping (or inching, depending on the score) on to the field at every break in play; the latter are politely required to speed their decision-making up.
These and other matters are dealt with by your ever alert WR.
Another gripe of mine is the so-called deliberate knock-on. How on earth do you define ‘deliberate’? How quickly can the brain react to a ball whizzing across a player? Human instinct is to try and catch it. A yellow card is all too often the outcome, leading to a change of result that can hardly be called deserved.
WR hasn’t cracked this problem, though it is aware of the injustices it can cause. Its final statement on the subject does rather pass the buck: it calls on referees to show good judgement.
‘There is no formula for determining a Yellow Card sanction in these situations,’ it claims.
When the English Premier 15s league was allowed to restart under adjusted regulations during the pandemic, they certainly speeded the game up. These new measures will increase it even further.
Best not to blink.
