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Dick
Podmore
Chairman USARRA Laws Sub-committee
The
following is a summary
only of some
of the more significant changes to the Laws
announced so far this year by the International
Rugby Board (IRB). All those interested
should consult the actual text, which can be found
in the recently issued USA Rugby Handbook (see
more later).
Any questions should be addressed first to
the Local Area Union Referee Societies and thence
to USA Rugby Referees Association (USARFU Referees
and Laws Committee).
Laws of
the game made easier.
Over the past year or so the IRB undertook a
comprehensive rewrite of the Laws of the Game of
Rugby. The
process of rewording, reorganizing, and
renumbering was completed last year, and a new
version of the Laws was issued in the form of the
Laws of the Game Made Easier.
The IRB did not intend to change the
substance of the Laws, but did intend to make the
new version more easily understood than the arcane
English version that has been with us for so long.
It was to be the same game, with players
able to play their positions as they played them
before. Last
year the old version was retained as the official
version and the new version ran parallel with it.
This
year the IRB has made the new version the official
standard. USA
Rugby has acted accordingly.
All citations of Law hereafter will refer
to the new version contained in the USA Rugby
Handbook.
In
addition to formalizing the new language for the
2000-01 seasons the IRB has introduced two sets of
changes to the Laws: some Experimental Law
Variations, and some non-experimental Law changes.
Experimental
Law Variations.
Several experimental changes in Laws were adopted
by the IRB in January, 2000 for the Six Nations
competition, and were subsequently applied by
other rugby organizations, such as the Epsom Cup,
in the first part of the year.
The USA Rugby Board decided that the
changes should not be applied in the USA until
after the spring season.
The changes are now in effect, but remain
experimental, and thus subject to alteration or
elimination by the IRB at any time.
All of the Experimental Law Variations (ELV)
are contained in a separate section starting on
page 185 of the USA Rugby Handbook.
Brief descriptions of the more significant
changes are as follows.
Tackler
releasing the ball.
If opposition players who are on their feet
attempt to play the ball, the tackled player must
release the ball.
(ELV Law 15.5.e)
Penalty: Penalty
Kick.
Entering
the Tackle from the Correct Position.
At or near a tackle, arriving players must come
from their side of the ball and the tackle.
(ELV Law 15.7.b)
Penalty: Penalty
Kick.
Playing
the Ball at
a Tackle.
A player who gains possession of the ball at a
tackle must play it immediately. Either
move away, pass, or kick.
Don’t just stand there with the ball.
(ELV Law 15.7.c)
Penalty: Free Kick.
Staying on
the Feet at a Tackle.
A player who gains possession of the ball at a
tackle must not go to ground at or near to the
tackle. (ELV Law 15.7.d)
Penalty: Penalty
Kick.
Pre-grip
at Line-out.
Players may not pre-grip team-mates below the
waist. (ELV
Law 19.9.j)
Penalty: Free
Kick
Supporting
at Line-out.
Players must not support jumpers below the
shorts from behind, or below the thighs from the
front. (ELV Law 19.9.k)
Penalty: Penalty
Kick
Line-out
Peeling.
Peeling players no longer need to remain
parallel and close to the line-of touch, but they
must remain within 10 meters of the line-of-touch.
(ELV Law 19.11.b)
Penalty: Free
Kick, 15 meters in, along the line-of-touch.
Scrum
Binding.
The loose-head prop must
bind on to the tight head.
No resting the hand on the knee. All props
must grip their opponent’s jersey on the back or
side, and must not grip the chest, arm, sleeve, or
collar of the opposition. (ELV Law 20.3.c)
Penalty: Penalty
Kick.
Scrum
Throw-in.
“Use it or lose it.” If a scrum
remains stationary, and the ball does not come out
immediately, or if a scrum become stationary and
does not start moving again immediately and the
ball does not come out immediately, the scrum will
be whistled to a stop, a new scrum set, and the
ball put in by the team not
in possession at the time of the stoppage.
(ELV Law 20.4.e and f)
Scrum
Wheel.
“Use it or lose it.” If the scrum
wheels more than 90 degrees, the scrum shall be
whistled to a stop, a new scrum set, and the ball
put in by the team not in possession at the time
of the stoppage.
(Law 20.11)
New Laws
The following are non-experimental alterations to
the Laws, effective August 1, 2000.
In the USA Rugby Handbook the changes are
woven into the relevant Laws.
Substituted
players re-entering the match.
A substituted (but not a sent off) player may
return to replace a front row player who has been
injured, sin binned, or sent off.
Front
row sent off.
If a front row player is sent off or sin
binned, he must be replaced by a player on the
field who is suitably trained as a front row
player. However, if there is
no such suitable replacement on the field, the
captain can now choose any other player, not just
any other forward, to leave the field to be
replaced by a suitable trained player from the
sidelines. (Law 3.14.a)
Instant
replay.
The match organizer may appoint an official to
use “technological devices”, to be consulted
if the referee is unsure about a decision in
in-goal regarding a score or touch-down, or the
success of kicks at goal. (Law 6.A.8.b)
Yellow
and red cards.
At a caution the referee will show a yellow
card, and at a send-off the referee will show a
red card. (Laws 6.A.10 and 10.5)
Foul
Play-Obstruction.
A player must not stand or move into a
position with the intent of preventing an opponent
from tackling the ball carrier or from playing the
ball. It
is now clearly illegal for a player behind the
ball or ball carrier to obstruct. (Law 10.1)
Penalty: Penalty
Kick
Off
side in general play.
When the ball is kicked ahead, an offside
player must retire to behind an imaginary line
across the field which is 10 meters from the
opponent waiting to play the ball.
Essentially, the old “10 meter circle”
around the player is replaced by a “10 meter
line” from the player all the way across the
field. (Law
11.4) Penalty:
Penalty Kick.
Tackle.
At a tackle, the tackled player may not place
or push the ball into touch. (Law 15.5.g)
Penalty: Penalty
Kick.
Line-out
near Goal Line.
The line-of-touch at a line-out shall not be
within 5 meters of the goal line.
(Law19.7.l)
Scrum Near
Goal Line.
No scrum is to be formed with the middle line of
the scrum within 5 meters of the goal line.
(Law 20.1.b)
Scoring
from a free kick.
A maul has been removed from the conditions that
would allow a drop-goal to be scored after a free
kick (or after a scrum taken instead of the free
kick). For
a drop-goal to be allowed the ball must have
become dead, or the ball must have been played or
touched by an opponent, or a tackle must have
occurred. (Law
21.6.b)
Goal
Post Padding and Tries.
Since the goal post padding is part of
the goal post, if an attacking player
simultaneously touches the ball to the ground and
the padding surrounding the post, a try is scored.
(Law 22.4.b)
Seven-a
Side Sin Bin.
2 minutes. (Seven-a side Variations: Law 10)
Seven-a
Side Kick off.
If the ball does not reach the 10 meter line
without being played by an opponent, a free kick
is awarded to the non-offending team at the center
of the half-way line.
(Seven-a-side Variations: Law 13.8)
USA Rugby
Handbook
The above brief summaries are intended to draw
attention to the significant changes in Law that
are now in effect.
They are not the definitive texts.
All those interested should refer to the
actual Laws to gain a full understanding.
The complete Laws of the Game, together
with the Under 19 Variations, the Experimental Law
Variations and the Seven-a Side Variations are
contained in the USA Rugby Handbook.
Copies of the Handbook are available from
the following rugby equipment supply houses.
American Rugby
Outfitters
1510 Midway Court, Suite E6
Elk Grove
IL 60007
800-467-8429
americanrugby@sprynet.com
International
Athletics
PO Box 126
Ferndale
WA 98248
800-635-4553
www.internationalathletic.com
Matt Godek Rugby
and Soccer Supply
P.O. Box 565
Merrifield
VA 22116
800-872-7842
www.rugbystore.com
Rugby Imports
885 Warren Avenue
East Providence
RI 02914
800-431-4514
www.rugbyimports.com
Special
prices will be available for orders received by
the end of August.
Contact the supply houses for details.
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