Deans welcomes new rules

Robbie Deans is confident the International Rugby Board's (IRB) new law variations will be a success in next year's Super 14 competition.

Deans, who has re-signed for another year with the New Zealand Rugby Union and will remain the Crusaders head coach, says the proposed law changes should simplify the game for players, referees and spectators.

Originally trialled in South Africa, the rules will be road-tested in the New Zealand provincial B competition which starts next month.

Australia and Scotland are also testing some laws.

Deans, who has watched DVDs of matches played under the eight rule variations, is most enthusiastic about the breakdown law being amended.

"That is one of the most exciting parts of it – that and being 5m back from the scrum. The breakdown rules will make the game more effective and exciting. It will take the pressure off the referees and off the players. It will be easier to play, watch, and adjudicate."

The experimental law variations state that when a player is tackled, there are immediately offside lines.

A tackled player must play the ball and may not be prevented from playing it by any player off his feet.

"Players will want to stay on their feet because they will benefit," Deans said.

"If you are not on your feet, you are not rewarded."

If the ball is unplayable, the side not taking the ball into contact will receive a free-kick – not a scrum.

This has created fears the scrum will no longer be an important part of the game, and turn the code into a hybrid game of bullrush and lineouts.

Deans, however, says those concerns are ill-founded.

"People will think the scrum will go out of the game, but there is more advantage to scrum rather than have a free-kick," he said.

The new rules state that the offside line for players not in the scrum and who are not a halfback, must stand 5m behind the hindmost foot.

Instead of taking a free-kick and running into potential tacklers, teams with powerful scrums will likely call for the set-piece because they have more room to launch attacks and do not have to cope with so much defensive traffic.

"I think this is one of the most exciting things to happen to the game," he said.

"It's a great initiative by the IRB."

The rules also allow for defending players to pull down mauls and the "truck and trailer" is no longer an offence.

Other rule changes include touch judges being renamed flag judges who can indicate offside at the tackle by raising their flags.

There are a number of amendments to the lineout laws, the most notable being a quick throw can be tossed straight or towards the defenders' goal line, no maximum of players in the set-piece, neither team pre-determining numbers and pre-gripping will be allowed.

- © Fairfax NZ News