McCaw welcomes RFU backtrack

Richie McCaw © Gallo Images

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw on Friday welcomed the apparent back track by the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) over experimental law changes it had lobbied not to have adopted.

RFU chairman Martyn Thomas said this week that he wants world rugby's governing body, the IRB, to look at the tackled ball laws in a bid to simplify the breakdown and help promote attacking rugby.

Games during the November internationals have been dominated by defence-driven teams with an increasing reliance on kicking, the ping-pong aerial displays often booed by crowds.

Flowing rugby has largely been conspicuous by its absence with a woefully small number of tries scored.

Of the 13 Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) trialled in the southern hemisphere last season, ten were adopted.

Crucially, the sanctions experiment, which saw most offences punished with a free-kick rather than a penalty, was not, the RFU and other northern hemisphere unions arguing that it was a "cheat's charter".

Under the ELVs, only three infringements at the tackled ball area warranted a full penalty: foul play, offside play and not coming straight into the ruck or maul.

The reform effectively took the onus off referees at ruck time and allowed the game to open up.

"They figured it out, huh?" chortled All Black skipper McCaw on Friday, speaking ahead of the All Blacks game against France.

"It was frustrating the fact that we didn't all go off and try the same things," he said of the ELVs that were not trialled in the northern hemisphere.

"The fact they're saying that now, at least they're acknowledging that but I think we're locked in for the next couple of years, but I guess over the next two years some thought has to be put into what's going to help.

"The free-kick kept the game flowing and infringements didn't actually stop the game as it does now with penalties.

"Teams defend and there's still going to be a contest at the breakdown. I think teams are pretty good at that now. There's always going to be a fight. I don't know how they'll change or if they will change that because that's the nature of rugby, it's a contest, so I don't know the answer."

McCaw admitted, however, that flowing rugby at test level was a difficult thing to carry out because of the pressure.

"Super 14 is a bit different: teams chance their arm a bit more because you can always get it right next week," he said.

"But for the one-off tests you're perhaps a wee bit more conservative at times."

IRB chief executive Mike Miller was quick to urge England, who scored one try in their last three games, to look at their own style of play.

"There are certain concerns in certain countries but, if you take a global perspective, you'll find the views coming from England are not necessarily shared around the world," Miller said, quoted by The Guardian newspaper.

"I think there are more issues in England, based around the style of play and the number of matches. A lot of it comes down to mentality, particularly from the managers and coaches.

"Regardless of the IRB or the laws, people need to look at themselves and what they're doing. Everyone bears the responsibility of having an attractive game that people want to play and watch."

Miller acknowledged it was "very unlikely" substantive changes to the laws would be rushed in before the 2011 World Cup.

"There will be discussions about kicking and around the breakdown but if you talk to six people you get six different solutions," he told the paper.

"Having watched the autumn internationals, the main issue is the kicking. It's the fear factor, particularly the fear of making a mistake in your half. But Australia, New Zealand and Wales still want to play.

"Rugby is meant to be a flowing game. There are still some countries who can move the ball and score tries and others that can't. You have to ask yourself: is it the game, is it referees, is it the laws or the individual countries themselves?"

Read more on the latest rugby news page.

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