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Mazda Australian Rugby Championship to Go All The Way with Law Changes
June 14, 2007 - 1:00am
Story by: ARU
The inaugural Mazda Australian Rugby Championship will be the testing ground for major law changes in the game.
The Australian Rugby Union has decided that all eight Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) will be adopted in the ARC which begins nationally in August. The ELV’s, devised at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University are aimed at bringing more free-flowing play to Rugby.
Four of the ELV’s have been trialled in the Sydney and Brisbane club competitions in recent months to rave reviews from coaching staff, players and spectators alike. The ARC will be the first time all eight ELV’s will have been introduced in a match in Australia.
Among the law variations are a disincentive for kicking the ball into touch from inside the 22 metre line therefore promoting more running play and major changes to lineouts, the breakdown and mauls. If a ball is thrown back inside the 22 and then is kicked out on the full, the lineout will be from the point of the the kick rather than where the ball crossed the touchline.
“The whole idea of the ELV’s is to make the game of rugby more easily understood and more enjoyable for spectators,” said ARU Referees Manager and former International Referee Peter Marshall. “We have been getting some really good feedback from both sides of the fence from the trialling of some of the law variations in the Sydney and Brisbane competitions,” he said.
The Mazda ARC, which will feature teams based in Brisbane, The Gold Coast, the Central Coast, North Sydney, Parramatta, Canberra , Melbourne and Perth kicks off on August 11. It will be an Australian first for a competition filling the void between club rugby and the professional ranks. The competition will feature more than 100 professional players and aims to be the perfect springboard for players into the elite level of the game.
(Please find below the descriptions of all eight ELV’s to be implemented in the Mazda ARC).
Experimental Law Variations and Commentary:
Touch Judges
1. TJ’s can indicate offside at the tackle by raising their flag horizontally in the direction of the offending team. This flag raising will be mirrored by the opposite TJ so as to provide visual assistance to the referee. The referee however is not obliged to act on the offence.
Posts and flags around the field
2. Corner post, and post at corner of touch in goal and dead ball line are moved back 2 metres. This ensures consistency of touch along the entire length of the touch line and touch in goal line.
Inside the 22 metre line
3. 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 or an opponent plays the ball and the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is where the ball crossed the touch line.
Lineout
4. 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.
5. A player peeling off at the front of the lineout can do so as soon as the ball leaves the throwers hands.
6. The receiver in a lineout must stand 2 metres from the lineout.
7. The non throwing hooker does not have to stand between the 5 metre line and the touch line. They must conform to law wherever they stand.
8. There is no maximum number of players in the lineout but there is a minimum of 2.
9. Neither team determines numbers in the lineout.
10. Pre-gripping is allowed.
11. If a lineout throw is not straight, the option is a lineout or FK to non throwing team. (Added 1 Oct).
Breakdown (tackle/post tackle)
12. Players entering the breakdown area must do so through the gate. RIGIDLY APPLIED
13. Immediately the tackle occurs there are offside lines.
14. The offside lines run parallel to the goal lines through the hindmost part of the hindmost player at the tackle.
15. A tackled player must immediately play the ball and may not be prevented from playing the ball by any player who is off their feet. (Added 1 Oct).
16. Any other player playing the ball at the breakdown must be on their feet. (Added 1 Oct)
17. If the ball is unplayable at the breakdown, the side that did not take the ball into contact will receive a FK.
18. If the ball is received directly from a kick and a tackle occurs immediately, and the ball becomes unplayable, the FK is given to the team who received the kick.
19. There are only 3 penalty offences (not including dangerous play) at the breakdown:
a. Offside for not coming through the gate.
b. Offside where defenders are in front of the last man on their side of the breakdown. i.e. the offside line.
c. Players on the ground preventing playing of the ball.
20. Repeated infringements can be dealt with as per current law.
21. A scrum option is available for all FKs.
22. Dangerous play will not be tolerated. Eg. Diving over the breakdown.
23. The half back should not be touched unless he has his hands on the ball.
Maul
24. Defending players can pull down the maul.
25. Players joining the maul must do so through the gate. RIGIDLY APPLIED.
26. If a maul becomes unplayable, the team not in possession at the start of the maul receives a FK.
27. The ‘truck and trailer’ is no longer an offence.
Scrum
28. 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
26. For all offences other than offside, not entering through the gate, and Law 10-Foul Play, the sanction is a FK.
*FK = Free Kick.
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