Australia drops off rugby DRS experiment

New Zealand will proceed with its planned captain’s challenge but Australia will sit out the DRS-inspired innovation.

Challenging a referee’s ruling won’t be seen in Super Rugby AU this season

New Zealand will proceed with its planned captain’s challenge in its Super Rugby Aotearoa competition but Australia will sit out the DRS-inspired innovation while pressing ahead with a number of its own law variations for the new season.

Precisely how New Zealand will press ahead with the cricket-style challenge remains to be seen, especially as it seemed ­prepared to backtrack through 30-odd phases to achieve the “correct” outcome — even if that outcome was influenced by subsequent refereeing decisions.

It is still to be determined what law variations will apply when the two countries come together for the planned trans-Tasman competition in June. Australia may not have agreed to endorse the captain’s challenge but New Zealand, in turn, has not given the green light for the 50-22 or 22-50 kicks to apply in its own domestic competition.

Such kicks — which effectively mimic rugby league’s 40-20 ruling — are designed to encourage teams to kick more as an attacking option, given that they will receive the lineout feed for any long kick which bounces into touch, but, perversely they should also encourage more ball-in-hand play as sides drop players back to cover against such kicks, thereby weakening defensive lines.

The most significant change will be the introduction into Super Rugby AU of the “golden try” ruling, which tweaks last year’s “golden point” experiment. The two matches that finished with scores level at fulltime both degenerated into kick-a-thons as teams attempted to kick for field position to ensure the opposition could not kick a penalty goal or field goal. Rather than adding to the excitement as the two sides threw everything into the contest, the purpose of extra-time quickly became not to lose. Accordingly, the rule has been significantly tweaked to ensure that the first team to score a try will win.

There has also been a strong move to put an end to the so-called “caterpillar ruck” in which players form a ruck single-file to ensure that the defending side cannot legally touch a halfback who, almost invariably, intends to put up a box kick. Under the law variation, once a team secures the ball and the referee calls “use it”, they have only five seconds in which to kick or pass.

The current laws cover that situation at the moment but instead of pulling up play and awarding the defending side the put-in to a scrum, the referee will now signal a free kick. In that event, the only options are to take a quick tap, kick for the line (with the opposition to have the throw) or, a throwback, put up a Garryowen. Either way, the time-consuming option of packing a scrum is not permitted.

Similarly, free-kicks — with no option of a scrum — will be ordered for any mishap at the kick-off or restart, whether it be players being in front of the ­kicker or the kick not going the required 10m or going out on the full.

“We actually believe we (Australia) have the potential to be the best scrum in the world,” said Rugby Australia’s director of rugby Scott Johnson. “So we are not trying to negate the scrum. But World Rugby is looking at safety, speed and space and that’s what we are aiming at with these variations.

“There were some terrific, robust discussions that were had, and some great left-field ideas proposed, but we believe we have struck a great balance in preserving the integrity of the competition, developing our players for the Test arena later this year and enhancing the spectacle of the game.

“The variations were all unanimously agreed, and everyone also indicated a desire for referees to ‘speed up the game’.”

Meanwhile, dual World Cup-winner Tim Horan has weighed into the Reds’ captaincy debate, telling AAP that former Australian under-20 skipper Fraser McReight was the man to lead Queensland in the absence of Liam Wright who on Monday underwent ankle surgery.

“He (McReight) is guaranteed to start, has the leadership history and (needs to be) well respected within the group,” said Horan. “I’m sure he is.”