Always a Wasp

Rugby introduces three new laws, and trials six more

Fan-focused changes will reduce kick-tennis, outlaw the crocodile roll and remove option of taking a scrum from a free-kick
Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer 9 May 2024 ? 8:37pm
 

Teams will no longer be allowed to choose a scrum from a free-kick under new laws to be rolled out across the game next season, with 20-minute red cards and shot-clocks for scrums and line-outs also to be trialled.

World Rugby confirmed on Thursday afternoon three permanent law tweaks that will come into force from July 1 of this year. Explaining that their plan ?seeks to increase rugby?s accessibility and relevance among a broader, younger fanbase by embracing on-field innovation and reimagined presentation of the sport with compelling storytelling,? the governing body also announced several trials to take place at this summer?s Under-20 World Championship that could be rolled out across the game next year.

The first immediate change will see scrums outlawed from free-kicks, with teams required to kick or tap them to speed up the game. South Africa notably called for scrums from free-kicks following marks in their own 22 during the knockout stages of last year?s World Cup.

The second change concerns kicks in open play, and the clause popularly known as ?Dupont Law?. From July 1, it will no longer be possible for a player to be put onside when an opponent catches the ball and either runs five metres or passes the ball. In a bid to reduce the amount of kick tennis, offside players must now retreat.

Finally, the ?crocodile roll? ? the act of twisting a defending player off their feet in the tackle area ? will be outlawed. Christian Day, the current head of the Rugby Players? Association, has been campaigning against the ?crocodile roll? for more than two years and was an influential voice.

The changes are unlikely to end with the three laws introduced from July 1, given several new trials have been announced. Twenty-minute red cards, whereby the offending player can be replaced after that period rather than permanently excluded and which have been promoted by Super Rugby competitions over recent years, are part of a suite of six ?closed law trials? that will be used in World Rugby competitions, including the World U20 Championship, over the coming year.

There will also be a trial of automatic bans for certain offences in a concerted move from World Rugby to streamline the disciplinary process to avoid the confusion and inconsistency that has marred the game in recent years.

The 20-minute red cards will be offset by a revised on- and off-field sanctions process with suspensions attached to offences. Days of mitigation for good behaviour at hearings or for previously clean records could be gone.

Foul play, where a player has ?attempted to affect a legal rugby action? will bring about a two-week ban. Aggravated foul play, involving ?highly reckless? actions such as tucked arms, shoulder-charges and spear tackles, will be worth four-week suspensions. Mitigation will only come into force if there is an appeal.

Teams in the U20 World Championships and in other World Rugby competitions such as the Pacific Nations Cup and WXV will have 30 seconds to set scrums and line-outs. The shot clock for a conversion will be reduced from 90 seconds to 60.

There is to be added protection for scrum-halves at the bases of scrums, rucks and mauls, with the offside line for defending scrum-halves moved back to the middle of the scrum.

Players will be able to mark the ball inside their own 22 from a restart, which has been introduced to encourage short restarts and discourage caterpillar rucks, which teams often use to clear the ball down-field. Finally, mauls can only stop once before the ball has to be played and, if line-outs are uncontested, then throws cannot be called as ?not straight?.

?Changes will add to rugby?s entertainment factor?

The trial laws announced this week were discussed at the Shape of the Game conference in February and findings will be presented to the World Rugby Council in November. From there, they could be rolled out more widely. They could be implemented in earlier competitions if participating unions choose to introduce them.

?I would like to thank my colleagues from across the game for embracing the spirit of this comprehensive review of rugby?s entertainment factor,? said Bill Beaumont, the World Rugby chairman. ?With calendar certainty, including new competitions and all men?s and women?s Rugby World Cups set through to 2033, our major events are defined, our content set.

?There is unprecedented long-term certainty, and this work is vital to ensuring that the on-field product is befitting of the opportunities that we have in front of us, a superb sport that is enjoyable to play and watch and helps attract a new generation to get into rugby.

?Personally, I believe that the law amendments and suite of closed trials will add to the entertainment factor. As with all trials, we will comprehensively review their effectiveness and take feedback from across the game. The revised red card sanction process is such an example, and it is important that we trial, assess and make definitive decisions based on data and feedback.?

Among other areas being monitored by World Rugby is the tackle height of the elite game, which has been lowered at lower levels around the globe, and the number of replacements that are allowed in any given game.

At a glance: rugby's law changes

Scrums scrapped at free-kicks

Teams awarded a free-kick will no longer be able to assemble a scrum. Goodbye to the Springboks? World Cup flex. Could teams with a weak set piece cynically concede free-kicks at scrums, though? A second free-kick for the same offence does yield a penalty.

Dupont Law scrapped

A clause in the offside law essentially allowed players to hold offside positions during kick-tennis rallies before rushing up-field once an opponent ran five metres or passed the ball. This is now closed, and players must retreat from offside positions.

Crocodile roll banned

Attacking players have been able to twist opponents away from the ball and to the floor at breakdowns. This is is now outlawed.

Twenty-minute red cards (trial)

Instead of traditional, permanent dismissals for red cards, the offending player will be allowed to be replaced after 20 minutes. Super Rugby has used this ploy, which is thought to be largely unpopular among northern hemisphere nations, in recent years.

Thirty-second shot clocks for scrums and lineouts (trial)

This aims to speed up the assembly of set pieces. Shot-clocks for conversions will also be reduced to 30 seconds, bringing them in line with the time limit for penalty goals.

Marks from restarts (trial)

Previously, receiving teams have not been allowed to call for a mark from long restarts. Now they will be able to. The aim here is to mitigate caterpillar rucks, which are often set up from restarts, and to encourage more shorter, contestable kicks.

Scrum-half protection (trial)

Following on from a trial in Major League Rugby across the Atlantic, scrum-halves will be given more space at rucks, mauls and scrums. At scrums, the offside line for the defending scrum-half will be moved back to the middle of the set piece.

Potentially a great asset in the new Wasp set up. Knows the league and players very well!,,,

He would certainly get my vote, ex Wasps player and Championship winning Head Coach. What's not to like?

I?m sure it was Lam who was peddling the lunatic idea of increasing the cap not so long ago.

Maybe it wasn't all down to bad management by Wasps???

https://www.cityam.com/losses-at-coventry-arena-revealed-after-mike-ashleys-takeover-as-turnaround-continues/

?The Championship is producing coaches ? but Premiership teams are not interested?

Interview: Harvey Biljon, who has impressed with Jersey Reds and now Rotherham Titans, says the pathway to the top is often blocked
Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer 7 May 2024 ? 1:41pm

Topping the second tier with an underdog team, landing a high-profile cup upset in front of the television cameras and then stirring a sleeping giant; Harvey Biljon has had some year. To put it crudely, he would be a household name with equivalent success in football and clubs would be scrambling for his signature. As it stands, the 46-year-old is striving for the recognition he deserves.

?Who?s got naked photos of me somewhere?? Biljon jokes. ?Who have I p----- off along the way? I don?t know. I would like to think I?ve got no skeletons in the closet.

?I?ve tried to build evidence with what I?ve been doing on the pitch with players. Bar a couple of occasions, when a big job has come up, I haven?t got in the room to have the discussion before a club has decided to go another way.?

This season has seemed so long and loaded with storylines that last September feels aeons ago. But it is only six months since Jersey Reds, still the Championship title holders, beat Bath with a statement performance at the Rec. That 34-10 victory in the Premiership Cup, which TNT Sports televised, was underpinned by powerful mauling and capped with a 70-metre counter-attack that laid on a try for Russell Bennett.


While the hosts were far from full-strength, Jersey?s rounded display endorsed a decade of progress under Biljon. And then, 10 days later, the club?s professional arm ceased to exist. Players and staff drifted in different directions, as was grimly familiar from the debacles at Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish. Sam Grahamslaw, the loosehead prop, was recruited from Jersey by Bristol Bears, for instance.

Biljon had endured a unique summer in 2023. ?Absolute euphoria? over Jersey?s Championship victory was replaced by a sense of futility, because the club knew they could not go up to the Premiership on account of the league?s minimum standards criteria. A month after investors pulled the plug, citing a lack of clarity over league structures, Biljon joined Rotherham Titans to oversee the first-team with Gareth Lewis.

The Yorkshire outfit had been relegated to the fourth tier in 2020 when a mathematical formula was used to complete league results during Covid. Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Rotherham were aiming to celebrate their centenary by winning National 2 North. Do that and they would achieve their first promotion in 21 years, since earning a stint in the Premiership for 2003-04.

Biljon?s first act was to ?pull up the hand-brake? and ask his charges to look in the mirror. He interrogated data points ? unforced errors, penalty counts, conversion of opportunities ? and identified the ?superpowers? of his squad to develop complementary tactics.

?I needed to make sure people knew I was active as a coach and that I hadn?t gone into the wilderness,? admits Biljon. ?And, wherever I was coaching, that team were going to be making strides forward.?

With his young family staying in Jersey, Biljon flew over every Tuesday, staying until Sunday for two training sessions and a game. Rotherham tightened up their defence ? they would concede just over 18 points per match across 26 league outings ? and went on a phenomenal run of bonus-point wins after losing 26-20 to Leeds Tykes in November.
Biljon?s Jersey were a launchpad to a higher level

At the end of March, Titans ousted the Tykes, who slipped up again against Fylde. When Rotherham met Sheffield Tigers for their penultimate league match, they defied ?anxiety in the dressing room? to score 24 unanswered points in the second period. A week later, Titans completed their task by beating Billingham. Next season, they will be in National 1.

Biljon credits Charlie Capps, Jack Bergmanas and John Okafor as pivotal players. A ?very rewarding? experience has ?re-energised? him. Managing semi-professionals, and some amateurs, was a fresh challenge. Among the biggest compliments Biljon received was from Martin Jenkinson, the Rotherham director of rugby, who told him in the bar one evening: ?This club has got its mojo back?. Further success with Titans has consolidated Biljon?s impressive CV.

A scrum-half who arrived at Wasps from Natal Sharks in 2000 and scrapped with superstars like Matt Dawson and Rob Howley for game-time, Biljon began coaching at Blackheath. With Cornish Pirates, he won the British and Irish Cup in 2010 and, in the days before ringfencing, reached two play-off finals in 2011 and 2012. Biljon?s Jersey were renowned for a free-flowing style and as a launchpad towards a higher level for players and coaches. Unfortunately, Biljon himself now feels non-plussed as to how he can keep climbing the ladder. Uncertainty over the second tier cannot be helpful.

?At the moment, where do you go and earn your coaching spurs, where you?re in the trenches each week and you have to problem-solve and adapt?? Biljon asks. ?Where?s the pathway? It feels that when the opportunities come up, someone from abroad will come in or a 75-year-old will be appointed.?

Biljon offered his services to the Rugby Football Union as a sounding board on the second tier, without being enlisted. For now, he is back in a waiting pattern. ?You have to practice what you preach,? Biljon says. ?You talk to players about resilience and overcoming adversity; how, when they?re not selected, they need to stay motivated if an opportunity comes along, because they might be needed for the most important game of the season.

?It is not easy. I can only liken my situation to a player that has just come back from injury and isn?t picked for a quarter-final. They?ve got to train as hard as ever so they can deliver their best if, for whatever reason, they are needed in the semi-final and final.?


Jersey surprised everyone, including themselves, by winning the Championship last year. Their triumphant campaign, which turned out to be their last, was supposed to be the first step of a three-year plan with the goal of reaching the Premiership. On a personal level, Biljon was ambitious. However, he had stopped window-shopping to focus on what was in front of him.

?I remember looking towards whatever that next opportunity might be and thinking they were so few and far between,? he says. ?I made a conscious decision that, if I wanted to get to the top level, I was going to have to get Jersey Reds there myself.?

Rotherham are fortunate to have an individual with such drive, who believes he has ?much more to give?. More widely, English rugby union cannot afford for coaches to become disenchanted.