New laws for... next week

[Which Tyler]

https://archive.ph/7Uoul

Rugby overhauls laws mid-season with Premiership to follow Champions and Challenge Cup changes
Tweaks to line-outs, scrums and conversions will be applied later this month
Charlie Morgan
Senior Rugby Writer
03 January 2025 10:29am GMT
Charlie Morgan

The Champions and Challenge Cups will adopt four new law trials midway through the pool stage of the competition, with the Premiership following suit later this month for the 11th round of league fixtures.
From round three of the Champions and Challenge Cups, which will take place over the weekend commencing January 10, matches will allow skewed line-out throws provided that the defensive team does not jump to contest them.
European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) has also confirmed there will be 30-second limits on setting up line-outs and scrums, and a reduction from a limit of 90 seconds to 60 seconds for conversions.
Finally, scrum-halves will receive greater protection at scrums, rucks and mauls. After ratification by World Rugby last November, these changes will be rolled out in competitions that begin in 2025, meaning that they will feature during the Six Nations.
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Yay for the competence of rugby administrators!

[Oakboy]

The opposition 9 not going beyond the centre of the scrum tunnel is interesting. Will it be strictly policed?

[Puja]

The opposition 9 not going beyond the centre of the scrum tunnel is interesting. Will it be strictly policed?

Gods, I hope so. That one is the most exciting to me - the whole point of moving the offside line 5m back from scrums was to increase the use of it as an attacking weapon by giving no 8 pickups a 5m runup to charge into defenders, and thus decrease playing for penalties, but it was then obviated by allowing defending 9s to clamber all over the 8. Hoping to see us get good use out of it in the 6N

Yay for the competence of rugby administrators!

I see the problem though - there's always going to be a disconnect with the season being a mess. If they'd done it at the start of the season, then it'd've put the touring sides at a disadvantage in the AIs, while at the end of ours puts the Lions and NH sides at a disadvantage over the Super Rugby players who'd've been playing with it for a while. Having the 6N include it but not the domestic comps would be the worst of all possible worlds, so better to bite the bullet and swap over now.

Puja

[Cameo]

The opposition 9 not going beyond the centre of the scrum tunnel is interesting. Will it be strictly policed?

Gods, I hope so. That one is the most exciting to me - the whole point of moving the offside line 5m back from scrums was to increase the use of it as an attacking weapon by giving no 8 pickups a 5m runup to charge into defenders, and thus decrease playing for penalties, but it was then obviated by allowing defending 9s to clamber all over the 8. Hoping to see us get good use out of it in the 6N

Yay for the competence of rugby administrators!

I see the problem though - there's always going to be a disconnect with the season being a mess. If they'd done it at the start of the season, then it'd've put the touring sides at a disadvantage in the AIs, while at the end of ours puts the Lions and NH sides at a disadvantage over the Super Rugby players who'd've been playing with it for a while. Having the 6N include it but not the domestic comps would be the worst of all possible worlds, so better to bite the bullet and swap over now.

Puja

I agree it's tricky to time the introduction of new rules, but I don't think these ones are too hard to adapt to. In fact, I think the touring sides used them (or at least the lineout one) in the Rugby Championship and then not in the AIs.

Both seem sensible. Will be hard to tell cause and effect but will be interested to see whether the lineout one means teams compete more often, even if it is just a token one man lift. How does the rule work when the attacking team just throws to a man standing at the front (i.e. not lifted)?