Nov 02 2007
Rugby Union Rides ELVs into 21st Century
Don at With Malice… provides us with a closer look at rugby union’s new Experimental Law Variations (ELVs), which are designed to create a more free-flowing game that’s more interesting to watch than that World Cup Final that nearly put me right to sleep.
Don likes the new rules regarding mauls and breakdowns, but here’s the one that I think stands out the most:
3. When a defending player receives the ball outside the 22 metre line and passes, puts or takes the ball back inside the 22, the following can occur:
a. If the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is in line with where the ball was kicked.
b. If a tackle, ruck or maul is subsequently formed or an opponent plays the ball and the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is where the ball crossed the touch line.
It’s almost the equivalent of the back-pass rule in soccer, and it takes away one of the things that annoys me the most about rugby union — teams that kick the egg out of bounds every three minutes to gain field position and set up line-outs. This makes it harder to do that. If you’re in the open field, run the damn ball. That’s what William Webb Ellis wanted you to do in the first place. Kicking it out of bounds every other minute is for pussies.
I’d like to see these ELVs in action in the Six Nations and Tri Nations next year. We’ll all find out then if it makes rugby union more fun to watch.
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Dave, kicking the ball into touch serves the same purpose as punting in American football. Teams kick the ball into touch to improve field position. They would rather have a lineout at midlfield rather than turnover the ball deep in their own territory.
I think instead of constant lineouts, the new rules will turn rugby into “ping-pong” where the teams are constantly kicking the ball to each other. That said, I think it will be an improvement over kicking out of bounds. I like most of the ELVs, except for allowing teams to collapse mauls, which I think is dangerous.
Personally, I like the free-flowing nature of rugby league more than the stop-start nature of rugby union. (Relatively speaking, I know it is not at the same level as American football, which ironically I like)
I like any attempts to make rugby union make a more free-flowing game. I hope the ELVs will reduce games like the boring Rugby World Cup final.
Agreed Joe… and the rules affecting the breakdown/maul will do exactly that - make a more free-flowing game.