Paddy attacks 'myths' over ELVs for AB tour
By NICHOLAS RUSSELL - RugbyHeaven | Friday, 17 October 2008
RugbyHeaven - New Zealand's home of Rugby news, coverage, video & pictures

The All Blacks head north in November in a pursuit of a cherished grand slam but they also step headlong into the continued furore over the ELVs in Europe, which have gone down like a lead balloon in their domestic competitions.

The list of players, ex-players and coaches to express unhappiness at the ELVs continues to grow after they were introduced into European club rugby this year.

Complaints have come from top coaches like Leicester's South African coach Heyneke Meyer, Wasps boss Ian McGeechan, Harlequins coach Dean Richards and Saracens director of rugby and former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones.

The majority of criticisms are over the perceived increase in kicking and continued difficulties at the breakdown which the new rules have failed to clarify.

The ELVs will be used during the November tests and will probably face their sternest examination yet as the rugby world watches to see if they have improved the game as a spectacle.

IRB referee manager Paddy O'Brien has come out swinging in the face of complaints saying people are getting over-emotional about the ELVs and are believing 'myths'.

"I think there's a bit of a myth out there that one of our objectives was to make the game more entertaining, which was not the case," O'Brien said on the IRB's Total Rugby show.

"That's up to the players. As for the kicking, the stats show that kicking is no more than it was at Rugby World Cup 2007, in fact it's down."

O'Brien is referring to a World Cup which was largely derided as a 'kickathon' with a tryless final as its centrepiece.

However, he was willing to admit that while the ball was in play for longer it spent longer in the air and that was often down to the referring.

"Sure, there is a lot of kicking and that is down to other reasons. Until the referees really get harsh at refereeing people on their feet at the tackle, players will not commit to the breakdown and the only way to break defences is by kicking the ball.

"The fact that there's a lot of kicking in games at the moment shouldn't be put down to the ELVs."

O'Brien also pointed out that the fact the All Blacks and their Sanzar partners were set to play under yet another set of rules when they head north was not a disadvantage, even though world rankings and 2011 World Cup seedings were at stake.

"People get a bit emotional over it but the only difference between the two hemispheres at the moment - and a reminder the NPC and Currie Cup are being played under the 16 ELVs whereas up north it's 13 - is that instead of being a penalty it's a free kick as a sanction. That's the only area.

"When a New Zealand, Australia or South Africa player looks up at the breakdown he'll see the (referee's) arm straight up in the air rather than a free-kick.

"The difference in the actual playing will be that rather than tapping and going, or saying 'no we'll take the scrum', it'll be a penalty and that can be kicked out for a line out. I don't think there's going to be much in it."

O'Brien said he has found that players support the new rules, contrary to the impression created in the media and the complaints of so many of Europe's top coaches.

"On the statistics we've had back so far, on 80 to 90 percent of the ELVs the players say they strongly support them, so despite all the myths out there that people don't like them, the people who play the game, who are at the end of the day the most important people, they're telling us yes they love them."