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Jones blasts IRB over law changes
AAP - September 14, 2008, 5:55 am
Former Australia coach Eddie Jones has launched a scathing attack on the International Rugby Board, claiming its tinkering with the laws of rugby union is damaging the game.
"You have to hand it to them," Jones wrote in the Independent newspaper. "It is quite a challenge for an organisation to introduce changes that, far from having the desired effect, quickly achieve the polar opposite, but the International Rugby Board appear to have mastered the art."
The IRB began a global trial of its so-called "Experimental Law Variations" on August 1 - an earlier and greater set of law variations had been tested in selected southern hemisphere competitions from February 1.
The changes are designed to keep the ball in play more and reduce the number of stoppages, but Jones, now director of rugby at English side Saracens, claims the changes are stifling play.
"If my arithmetic is correct, the first weekend (in England) averaged 3.3 tries a match, with no team managing to score an attacking bonus point," Jones said.
"In the lands of the Celts, the Magners League average was right down at 1.2. They've really opened the game up, those ELVs!"
Jones argues that far from simplifying the game for fans, the rule changes have left the players bewildered.
"The new laws made all teams hesitant and left some seriously confused," Jones said.
"My own Saracens were far from exempt in our contest with Harlequins at Twickenham. The players were as pumped up as you'd expect before the match, having worked long and hard through the preseason, but when the chance finally arose to really get stuck in, they seemed to hold back.
"Along with the other matches, ours reminded me of a prize fight in which a couple of cagey boxers flicked out their jabs but had no confidence when it came to throwing the big punches."
Jones fears that there will be fewer scrums and lineouts - two integral parts of the 15-man code.
"There are far fewer scrums. We had only five put-ins against 'Quins and went through the second period without a set piece called in our favour. Speaking as a former hooker, that really hurts. And the lineouts? We had 11 on our own throw.
"As recently as 2003-04, a team could expect the best part of 20 lineouts and at least a dozen scrums. This is a massive change that goes right to the heart of the way a game is plotted and played."
Running rugby could also fall out of fashion if Jones' fears are realised.
"Under these laws, teams are kicking more," he said. "If the ball spends longer in the air, it spends less time in the hands. If there are fewer passing movements and fewer drives, even the basic pick-and-go routines around the fringes of the rucks look like becoming more scarce because of the way referees are controlling the breakdowns, there will be fewer knock-ons or 'unplayable' calls at the tackle and therefore fewer set pieces."
The IRB will conduct a review of the ELV program in March 2009 and will present an updated set of laws in July. These will come into affect around the world the following month.
Jones blasts IRB over law changes Australian Sport - Yahoo!7 Sport
Bit like this article Eddie's flip flop on ELVs - Western Force Rugby Supporters Site