Former referee Nigel Owens says World Rugby risks turning Test rugby into rugby league by introducing a new law that depowers the scrum.
World Rugby approved a series of law amendments, effective 1 July 2024. targeting key areas such as offside from kicks, free-kick options, and player welfare concerns.
Among the new laws is that teams will no longer have the option to choose a scrum from a free-kick, emphasising the imperative of keeping the ball in motion.
The governing body said the law changes were “fan-focused”, to increase the sport’s entertainment factor and attract new audiences to grow the game.
However, in a column for WalesOnline, former Test referee Owens said the law change could in fact have a massively detrimental effect on the space for backs to attack.
“We must always remember that rugby has always been a very unique sport because it is a sport for all shapes and sizes. That is one of the main attractions, people play the game because there’s a place for them in it.
“For the guys in the front row, the likes of your Adam Joneses and your Ben Tameifunas, their bread and butter is being in the scrum. It’s a chance for them to use their strength and physical ability to benefit their team.
“When you have a scrum setup, you have 16 players bound in the scrum, so what you have behind you is space,” Owens added. “It’s important to be able to keep those 16 players in the scrum for as long as you can, because when the ball comes out, there’s space for them to attack.
“If we don’t have those players in the scrum, we’re just going to have continuous pick-and-go ball. You’re not going to better the game at all. It is less collisions we need to encourage in the game, not more.
“With this new law, World Rugby is not bringing in something which is not going to deal with the issues that are at play, but it is going to depower the scrum and take away an important part of the game. If we’re not careful, within a couple of years we will be like rugby league, with even less space on the field that what we have now.
“We need to deal with the negativity at scrum-time and bringing in the free-kick law is not going to do that. It may well encourage more of it.”
Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
