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Opinion: Macqueen rates ELVs
August 20, 2007 - 2:34am
Story by: Sportal
Former Wallabies coach and member of the IRB's ELV group, Rod Macqueen, offers his appraisal of the experimental rules following the first few matches of the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship.
The Mazda ARC has seen the IRB's Experimental Law Variations (ELV's) tested at their highest level of competition to date.
It is important to remember that these trials form part of a lengthy process that has been underway now for about two years and we are still very much in the experimental stage.
There were certainly some encouraging signs from the weekend's games but it is early days and this is all part of a rigorous process designed to let us assess what is working and what is not.
Understandably it's going to take a little while for referees and players to adapt to playing all of these laws, but considering some of those players who played over the weekend had not played any of the experimental laws, the results were surprising.
The motivation behind all of this is to try to make the game simpler and more enjoyable for both player and spectator whilst ensuring that we keep the different body shapes and sizes in the game.
That said, scrums and lineouts must maintain the same level of importance as under current laws.
Fundamentally, rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes and it must be a contest for possession. Detailed statistical analysis will be conducted and compiled later this month to allow the ELV Committee to evaluate what has happened and what develops throughout the Mazda ARC.
As it stands at the moment, the ELV committee will meet with the IRB later this year to formally recommend which experimental laws they believe should be put forward.
There is no doubt there are some positive signs at the moment but we must remember this is a process that has some way to go before informed assessments can be made.
New laws let brilliant Beale run riot
Rupert Guinness
Monday, August 20, 2007
It says something about the impact of the new laws on trial in the ARC that 18-year-old Kurtley Beale lamented he felt "old" after a blinding 80-minute performance on Saturday.
Beale's man-of-the-match showing for the Western Sydney Rams, who defeated the Central Coast Rays 39-30 at Bluetongue Stadium, was by no means the only example of all that so far appears so good about ARC rugby.
In a weekend that saw 26 tries scored in four games - and the Melbourne Rebels remain the only undefeated side after two rounds with their 34-24 win over the East Coast Aces - the running play and minimal stoppages that the International Rugby Board's experimental law variations are looking for were there for all to see.
Beale's game was as fine an example as you would have found in this second round. He scored two of the Rams' five tries, played a role in most of their other five-pointers and defended solidly.
It was a performance that, despite the argument that Beale is not yet ready for the Wallabies, left one wondering: what if he had been pencilled in for later use at the World Cup next month?
Beale's two tries could not have been more different. The first, in the eighth minute, was from a chip and chase five metres out that saw him beat the defender and score under the posts and put the Rams 7-3 in front when converted.
The second, after 63 minutes when the Rams were down 29-30, saw Beale sprint wide to the left-hand corner where he twisted his body to stay in play and ground the ball over the try line, putting the Rams 36-30 ahead.
However, even Beale - who loves nothing more than free-flowing, running rugby - admitted afterwards the law changes had left him out on his feet.
"It is a lot faster," he said. "I was really feeling that in the last 10-15 minutes. [When] you have not played a game for a couple of months and to come back to a real high-intensity game, I feel like my body is getting old."
Beale played for the Rams against the Perth Spirit in round one, but he did so off the back of only one training run having taken time off when his grandfather, Raymond, died from a long illness two weeks ago.
Saturday's clash was Beale's first real chance to measure himself within the confines of the new laws. And he loved it, starting at five-eighth then moving to fullback and featuring in midfield and wide play.
"This is like playing in the park ... a lot of running," he said. "Most of the time we have the ball in our hands. There are not many stoppages. It's really good for us skill-wise and hopefully next year in Super 14 the contracted players will be able to benefit from this game to get their skills up on track."
Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie was impressed with how Beale adapted to varying roles for the Rams, saying: "They used him in different ways - as a wide-running playmaker [then] swapped him back to full-back.
"He spotted some good opportunities and then there were also some great trademark plays by him."
As for the laws? As much as the players revelled - then fell to their feet in exhaustion thanks to them - and spectators were treated to non-stop entertainment, few dared to claim that they have a full grasp of them.
"I think we are all adapting. I don't think anyone can say they know everything about the rules," Rams coach Brian Melrose said. "I don't think I'm smart enough to work out in a couple of weeks what does and doesn't work."
After two rounds, the Rebels are on top of the ladder thanks to an entertaining win over the Aces, who ran Wallaby Chris Latham, in another nine-try bonanza at Olympic Park on Saturday.
In the other games, Canberra Vikings defeated Perth Spirit 17-8 on Friday night and Ballymore Tornadoes beat Sydney Fleet 26-20 in Brisbane yesterday, despite scoring two tries to three.
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