Law applications here for the year
Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:36
The All Blacks will play every Test this year under the revised laws applications which have gathered growing favour during the Super 14 and which will be showcased at next year's World Cup.
The New Zealand Herald reports that the International Rugby Board's referees' boss Paddy O'Brien confirmed his officials were using the law applications in the Six Nations and would persevere with the changes when Ireland and Wales toured New Zealand in June.
"We want everyone to be on the same hymn sheet and from June there will be 16 months for all teams to get used to the changes before the World Cup," he said, adding: "We have been pleased with what we have seen in the Super 14 and Lyndon [Bray] has done a great deal of work getting the messages through about what is needed ..."
O'Brien said games looked different in the hemispheres because of weather conditions, but the same laws applied. There was room in rugby for all sorts of styles but the laws and their application needed to be uniform.
Under the changes in emphasis this season, referees have penalised tacklers who do not roll away or release tackled players before they contest possession.
They have also insisted on a slower scrum engagement sequence, and been vigilant about obstruction in the mauls and the offside line in chasing kicks.
"There are still other things we need to clean up like infringing at the breakdowns because we are looking to create space on the field," O'Brien said.
"The game seems to be settling down well in the Super 14 and we are clearly seeing a better game. We are emphasising the same things up north. There is no divide in interpretations."
The New Zealand Herald reports that O'Brien could not say who would referee the June tests in New Zealand but he thought those appointments would be announced next month.
"We want to have the top referees doing the top games; it does not matter where they come from."
Wallaby coach Robbie Deans believes the revised interpretations have been a success.
"We're very close to perfection I think, so if they can get the whole picture right and lift the height of the ruck we'll have a great game - and I think we've seen evidence of that already," he said.
"Dealing with the first event [the tackle] is relatively easy and having dealt with that they can now turn their focus to the arriving support players and insist that they play the game on their feet, because there is no need now to launch with your shoulders below your hips to remove bodies off bodies.
"So given the referee is going to cater for that, they should be able to enter the ruck higher, there's still an incentive to go there for both sides so there'll be a genuine contest.
"The risk is if referees don't insist on attacking support players playing on their feet, then essentially the defence will opt out of the contest and then we'll end up with a cluttered D-line that we had a couple of years ago."
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