Changes in the interperatation of maul laws

http://laws.worldrugby.org/index.php...=9&language=EN

Shamelessly stolen from GnG rugby

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/sno...ul-law-reform/

just as oz teams get reasonably proficient at it they go and change the rules. go figure.

That's World Rugby's plan to rip us Aussie's off. I was going to say it sucks that they can change an interpretation while in season but most sports do it anyway.

On a side note, how dumb is "World Rugby", IRB is much better.

IRB > World Rugby

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jargan83

That's World Rugby's plan to rip us Aussie's off. I was going to say it sucks that they can change an interpretation while in season but most sports do it anyway.

---

I did notice that teams were getting away with a bit this year (players joining from the front, players detaching at the back) so I'm not opposed to it. I don't like the timing though - the last major European final was last weekend so it's almost like they went, "Oh well season's finished! Super what?"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by beige

I did notice that teams were getting away with a bit this year (players joining from the front, players detaching at the back) so I'm not opposed to it. I don't like the timing though - the last major European final was last weekend so it's almost like they went, "Oh well season's finished! Super what?"

---

That's it exactly, the timing of the crackdown is what's wrong with this not the actual intent.

I reckon this is good news for Oz (maybe not the Brumbies at the momemnt). Mauls and scrums haven't been our strong points (or a tactic) and with refs watching more closely these aspects the NH (and South Africa) teams will have to be careful in their set piece play.

Also it brings Mauls and Scrums back to what they are intended to do, open space by committing defenders in a single area. The maul isn't supposed to be a try scoring mechanism, its a dynamically formed scrum that allows the attacking team to make the defending team commit significant resources and hence open oppurtunities across the field.

And getting the refs to call the ball out of the scrum if at the 8's feet will remove one of the most frustrating aspects of scrums, for me anyway. I hate watching a ref blow a penalty for a collapsed scrum when the ball is at the back of it and ready to go. If you could calculate the stats for scrum penalites\resets with ball at the back of the scrum vs not at the back I reckon it would show the majority are the former.