Ever wish you could change just a select few things about this great game we all love so much? Perhaps a rule change or a fixture list tweak would be on your suggestions list? Maybe make the All Blacks run a half marathon before they played your team…
Recently I met an “out of Towner” (or “out of country(er)” more specifically) and was trying to explain the ruck and maul rules to him over a quiet beverage or two. It was not a short discussion. Eventually I think he understood most of the basic laws, although he did then politely tell me that he was actually watching the soccer game on the TV behind me and if I could please keep it down.
It got me thinking about a rugby wish list and the changes I would like to see after the Rugby World Cup 2015. The IRB have placed a moratorium on any new laws until then but I figured I should at least send them my suggestions for after the tournament. They can’t keep ignoring my emails forever!
I decided to keep my wish list down to five, mostly because I love the fundamentals of the game and there is not that much I would like changed.
I will say that I am not a fan of countless scrum resets and scrum penalties but I would not know where to start in order to try to change that. I believe that the dark art of scrumming is an integral part of rugby and will thus leave it up to the heavies to work out the best way forward.
So here is my rugby wish list in no particular order.
First wish: I would implement a referral system by introducing a ‘white card’. Each team would get one per game and the captain could then ask for a TMO review for foul play, possible try or anything they feel the match officials have missed or called incorrectly. This is of course to prevent ‘howlers’ of the Bryce Lawrence persuasion as a game doesn’t go by when there is not an instance where the match officials have got it horribly wrong or missed a blatant infringement and the decision or lack thereof has had an adverse effect on the result.
Second wish: Simplify the rules at the breakdown. There are too many rules that are open to interpretation and the referee can conceivably penalize either team at every breakdown depending on his point of view and the match situation. Not rolling away after the tackle is a particular grey area as it is often near impossible to do so and players are getting penalized far too quickly at ruck time.
Third wish: Always have 15 vs 15 players. I am all for yellow cards (when deserved) but too often 14 vs 15 players robs the spectators of a fair contest, especially when a red card is handed out and there is a one man advantage for rest of the game. I have heard this spoken about by many rugby pundits and am all for it. The idea is that when a player gets sin-binned, a replacement comes on in his place. In addition, for red cards, I think there should be a penalty right in front of the posts regardless of where the red card offense happens on the field.
Fourth wish: Have a global season. Currently the Southern and the Northern Hemispheres start and finish their seasons at completely different times in the year and currently Super Rugby gets stopped mid-way through the tournament so that the Southern Hemisphere sides can host the Northern Hemisphere sides. A global season would mean that the SH and NH sides could play each other at similar times in their respective seasons, would make for more competitive games, do not have to interrupt their club competitions and allow for more downtime for the players.
Fifth wish: Have another world tournament every four years, alternating with the RWC so we have a global competition every two years. Only the top 8 to 10 teams would compete in this and they would be grouped according to their world rankings a few months before the tournament. It could be shorter than the Rugby World Cup with fewer games but would mean that we get the chance to see the best teams play against each other every two years and in this tournament without the minnow sides being absolutely hammered in the pool games.
I was going to go off on a rant about how match officials should be cited for poor performances and then publicly tarred and feathered on the streets but I reckon a more constructive approach would be to make their already tough jobs that much easier with the introduction of simpler rules.
So there are my top five rugby wishes. Agree, disagree? If you could change anything about the game what would it be?
Send us your thoughts, take a load off and pour yourself a cuppa or crack a cold one and we can discuss.
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