RUGBY UNION
World Rugby reforms seek to save rugby from oblivion
Law changes to make sport safer from August 1
Alex Lowe, Owen Slot
Wednesday July 14 2021, 12.01am, The Times
World Rugby is today launching a significant programme of change to address concerns about concussion and player safety that are threatening the future of the game.
The reforms include changes on and off the field. A number of law trials are to be introduced globally from August 1, meaning that all rugby at professional and community level will be different in the coming season. The management of concussion will be adapted. A healthcare programme will also be introduced for retired players.
World Rugby has also pledged to invest in research into the women’s game to investigate whether it is best served by the same laws as the men’s game or should have different reviews of its own.
This is a significant statement of intent from World Rugby, which has been criticised for dragging its feet in response to the concussion crisis. It is a reflection of the change of pace in the organisation since Alan Gilpin took over as chief executive in March.
This is anything but a case of “problem solved” but World Rugby has been clear that these reforms are only a “first series of initiatives”.
The key law changes are:
● The introduction of the 50:22 kick. The attacking team will now be rewarded with the lineout if the ball is kicked from their own half and bounces into touch inside the opposition’s 22. The intention of the law is that the defending team would have to drop players into the back field to cover the kicks, creating more space in the defensive line and reducing the speed and frequency of head-on collisions. Creating space on the field and fatigue in the players are seen as key tools to drive down the force and number of collisions.
● The goalline drop-out. If the attacking team have the ball held up over the goalline, they will no longer be rewarded with a five-metre scrum. To reduce the number of scrums and pick-and-go collisions on the goalline, the defending team will drop out from under their posts.
● Tighter clear-out restrictions at the breakdown. Players clearing out can no longer target the lower limbs of the jackaller. This would prevent the kind of incident that led to Jack Willis, the England flanker, rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in the Six Nations.
● Outlawing the “flying wedge”. This will end the practice of pods of three or more players being bound prior to receiving the pass. The new laws will stipulate that only one person can latch on to the ball-carrier, providing the support player remains on their feet.
Eddie Jones, the England head coach, was on the working group that formed the breakdown adaptations. He said: “This whole drive is to make the game safer and faster — better for players to play and more enjoyable for supporters to watch.”
These amendments are largely based on data collected in men’s elite rugby. In a significant change to its concussion protocols, World Rugby will fund a panel of independent concussion consultants (ICC) who will have to sanction a player’s return to action if it is within ten days of them suffering a brain injury.
Other players deemed to be at a higher risk of neurological damage — those who have been concussed within the previous three months, twice in the previous 12 months or five times in their career — will have to be reviewed by an independent expert before they are allowed to play again, regardless of the recovery period.
It was one of these consultants, whose experience in sport is from outside rugby, who recently cleared Luke Cowan-Dickie to play for the British & Irish Lions a week after being knocked out while playing for Exeter Chiefs in the Gallagher Premiership final.
The process involves the independent consultant meeting with the player, when symptom-free, and team doctor separately to review the situation before reaching a conclusion. The new review system will not extend the minimum stand-down period from six days.
There will be some within the game who feel that this change does not go far enough. There are a number of influential former players and groups who believe that no player should be allowed to return to play within a week.
World Rugby is also one of the governing bodies being sued by a group of former players who have been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, some in their early forties.
It is significant, then, that among the reforms is a programme of post-career healthcare for players. World Rugby intends to spend £10 million a year on welfare activities, and its message is: “Players do not leave the rugby family when they hang up their boots.”
In announcing these changes, Gilpin said: “Our mission is to be the most progressive, open and collaborative sport when it comes to the welfare of our players at all levels.”
World Rugby is intent on keeping the game moving on the course that it has set. It will now seek to address further the community game. It is looking at a number of ways to address the recruitment of players to the game and their retention, with the intention of making the game more flexible and therefore more appealing to more players.
These new adaptations will go to the World Rugby council in November.
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