New Zealand to trial two refs system
The idea of two referees has been mooted for several years and has already been successfully trialed in South Africa's Varsity Cup competition.
The bold innovation is one of a number of changes being looked at, with others focusing on the tackle and ruck areas, as rugby looks to build on its growing popularity. New Zealand Rugby has not officially confirmed its role in the experiment but a spokesman indicated a statement on the issue may be issued in the near future.
"They [changes] are widely known after provincial unions sounded out clubs across the country about whether or not they wanted their premier competitions to trial the rules in order to prepare players for the representative season.
"Two referees will officiate together during New Zealand's national provincial championship next year as part of a World Rugby trial of proposed rule changes," Fairfax Media reported.
Grant van Velden, a high performance sports scientist at Stellenbosch University, believes it is "an almost impossible task" for one referee to control a game of rugby.
"The Varsity Cup has successfully trialed the two referee system for the last few tournaments with outstanding success. A referee simply cannot give 100 percent focus to one area without another area suffering," Van Velden, who has worked with the South African Rugby Referees Association as well as several Springboks and Wallabies, said.
The second referee is expected to primarily focus on a new offside line one metre back from rucks. Other changes will see the imaginary "gate" done away with and players will be able to enter the breakdown from any angle as long as they come from an onside position.
Tackler's rights are also set to be reduced with a new requirement of having to retire one metre before returning to the breakdown and thereby eliminating their ability to steal the ball in the same act as effecting a tackle.
World Cup-winning All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said after attending a World Rugby meeting in London this year that there was "a responsibility to ensure that rugby is as simple, enjoyable and safe to play as possible".
Agence France-Presse
