Super Rugby AU to kick off with new rules in bid to liven up the game
Rugby Australia agreed on Friday to test new rules in its domestic Super Rugby competition in a bid to liven up the game.
Rugby Australia agreed on Friday to test new rules in its domestic Super Rugby competition in a bid to liven up the game, including goal line dropouts and a 10-minute golden point period if matches are tied.
Seven new laws will be trialled when the tournament featuring the country’s four Super Rugby sides: the Brumbies, Queensland Reds, NSW Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels, plus Perth-based Western Force, kicks off on July 3.
Similar innovations will be used in New Zealand when its domestic tournament gets underway on Saturday after the original 15-team Super Rugby season across five countries was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
RA director of rugby Scott Johnson said the changes followed talks with coaches and players on ways to deliver more entertaining matches. Rugby union struggles for visibility in Australia, where rugby league and Australian rules dominate the football landscape.
“We assembled some of the best minds in the game from a range of different roles to look at adding some new attacking dimensions to the game while at the same time sticking to some key principles to preserve the fabric of the sport,” Johnson said.
One key change will see dropouts taken from the try line instead of the 22-metre line if a defending player touches the ball down inside the goal area.
There are also variations on the 50/22 and 22/50 laws.
Under the new-look rules, a kick taken from within the defending team’s 50m area that goes into touch within the opposition’s 22 after bouncing will earn a lineout for the kicking team.
Similarly, a kick taken inside the 22 that travels into touch within the opposition’s 50 after bouncing will be rewarded with a lineout to the kicking team.
Other innovations will allow red-carded players to be replaced after 20 minutes, and two five-minute periods of ‘super time’ tacked on to the end of games if tied, with the first team to score points winning.
Referees will also crack down on policing the breakdown, while limiting the number of scrum resets.
“Throughout the process we stuck to the principle that whatever we changed, the game still had to be rugby, and nothing could compromise the Wallabies’ preparation for Tests,” Johnson said.
“In fact, I believe the changes we have implemented will broaden and enhance the capabilities of our players.”
Waratahs coach Rob Penney is eager to get a sneak peek of law changes in New Zealand’s competition before Australia’s tournament reboot.
Super Rugby Aotearoa, which kicks off on Saturday in Dunedin, will also use extra time to decide a draw and the ability to replace a red-carded player after 20 minutes.
While not an official law change there will be an emphasis from referees on speeding up the breakdown and a crackdown on time-wasting and scrum resets.
Penney said the NRL had shown how a few changes could make a big impact on the game, and hoped the rules would be permanently adopted worldwide if they proved to be a success.
“I think the ones we’re taking into our competition ... we’ve gone obviously a bit further than New Zealand,” Penney said.
“We’ve had to be really conscious about not impacting negatively on the international games that will occur, hopefully, post our competition.
“There’s quite a few that could be easily adopted if they have a positive outcome in our comp and they could take the game forward, which is needed.
“Look at the other code - they made a couple of subtle changes and it’s different game.”
He said New Zealand would give them some insight into the new interpretations, and the Waratahs would introduce the rules into training from next week.
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