Always a Wasp

Sam Warburton hails ?phenomenal? Jack Willis after Toulouse?s Champions Cup final victory
David Skippers 11 hours ago

Nearly two years after his much-loved club Wasps ceased to exist, Jack Willis has been crowned an Investec Champions Cup winner after helping Toulouse to victory over Leinster on Saturday and earned high praise from former Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton.

The French heavyweights won the the tournament for a sixth time courtesy of a 31-22 extra-time victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Willis catching the eye with a superb all action display.

An ecstatic Willis, who joined Toulouse in November 2022 after Wasps entered administration the previous month, said he ?can?t put it into words how amazing this feels? after winning the Champions Cup for the first time with Les Rouge et Noir.

The 27-year-old flanker was on the pitch for the entire match and was one of the best players on display.
Brilliant on defence

In tandem with his captain, Antoine Dupont, the England international dominated the breakdowns as Toulouse won a remarkable 19 turnovers and Willis also delivered an outstanding defensive display as he made a match-high 29 tackles ? more than double the amount of hits made by Leinster?s leading tackler Caelan Doris, who made 14 hits.

?The way it went back and forth in Leinster?s favour, our favour, you never knew what was going to happen,? Willis said on TNT Sports.

?With a couple of minutes to go, we obviously go into extra time, having nothing in the tank, to be honest with you. But I think we believed we could do it. We have an unbelievable respect for Leinster, what a team they are.

?God we?ve had to work hard this week and in previous weeks building up to hoping this game would happen. I just can?t put it into words how amazing this feels.?

It was an epic encounter with both sides giving their all for the entire 100 minutes but Toulouse?s brilliance on attack and breakdown dominance helped them over the line in the end.

?It was tough to get over the gain-line, put it that way,? Willis said.

Toulouse win extra-time thriller against Leinster to claim SIXTH Champions Cup title

?Every time you carry you feel like you got melted, and we were trying our best to do the same.

?Leinster are an incredible team. We knew if we played our rugby we could go and get the result.

?I think what swung it was managing to get over in the corner, that try [from Matthis Lebel]. It was so close, penalty penalty penalty, and then getting that, it made a real big difference.?

TNT Sports pundit Warburton had special words of praise for Willis after Saturday?s final.

?I don?t know Jack, but I feel like I want to find him just to tell him how much I think of him as a player,? said the former Wales skipper and back-row.

?I think he?s phenomenal. He?s fitted in so well to Toulouse. Brilliant ball in hand, exceptional at the breakdown which is where he made his name defensively in England.

?Any other day, without Antoine Dupont, he would have been my Man of the Match.?

In fine form for Toulouse

After the disappointment of what happened at Wasps, Willis has slotted in seamlessly at Toulouse and produced several outstanding performances since joining the Top 14 champions.

?It was so tough what we went through at Wasps,? he said. ?I miss so much about Wasps every day. I miss playing with my best mates, I miss playing with my brother.

?But this group is amazing and they?ve welcomed me in so well. I feel part of it here, from top to bottom, everyone in the club, not just the boys.

?To play in games like this, this is what it?s about. I love it. I?ve loved it and I?m loving it.?

?It?s not a level playing field?: South African warning despite Challenge Cup victory

Sharks were dominant against Gloucester in final but head coach John Plumtree would like to see the competition tweaked
Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer 25 May 2024 ? 10:12am

Sharks head coach John Plumtree delivered an ominous warning for European rivals of South African sides in the Challenge and Champions Cups, insisting that the competitions were not yet a level playing field despite his side making history.

A dominant performance from a pack spearheaded by Springboks laid the foundation for a 36-22 victory over Gloucester, with the scoreline flattering the Premiership side due to two late consolation tries.

It was the first triumph for a South African franchise in their second season of competing in both competitions run by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), and qualified the Durban outfit for the Champions Cup in 2024-25.

Plumtree said that EPCR tournaments would be ?the best in the world? should administrative tweaks allow for less time on the road. The Sharks played a ?home? semi-final against Clermont at the Twickenham Stoop earlier this month.

?This is not an easy competition for South African teams at all,? Plumtree explained. ?There is a lot of travelling.

?For me, it?s not high performance right now. We?re competing well, but there are a few things that need to be ironed out in terms of levelling it up a little bit.

?This is our fourth trip up here this year and we?ve been away from home for close to three months. That?s not a level playing field, so they need to look at how they can make this competition better. I think it?s going to be the best competition in the world.

?For me, now, it?s better than Super Rugby, and I?ve been involved in that for a long time, but there are logistical things that need to be sorted out and hopefully that is in the next year or two.?

Eben Etzebeth, superb at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, suggested that Sharks? achievement ranked third in his career behind South Africa?s back-to-back World Cup wins in 2019 and 2023, describing it as ?by far my best experience at club level?.

The 32-year-old lock agreed with George Skivington, the Gloucester head coach, that the game represented a best performance of the season for the Sharks, who are languishing towards the bottom of the United Rugby Championship (URC) table thanks to 13 losses from 17 fixtures.


Plumtree, previously an assistant coach with both Ireland and his native New Zealand, will welcome some fine signings to the Sharks next season, including Trevor Nyakane, the Racing 92 prop who was at Tottenham to support his future colleagues, as well as former Harlequins centre Andr? Esterhuizen and Leinster lock Jason Jenkins. For a gruelling schedule, Plumtree argued, such depth and quality will be vital.

?At the start of the season when I came over, the team was disconnected,? he added. ?The culture was poor, we had a poor environment. It took a while to sort it out. But now the team is connected, the players love each other.

?My job is to keep building. We?ve got some quality players coming in and a couple of juniors coming through. Our squad will be stronger and it will need to be because we need two strong squads to compete in the Champions Cup and the URC, because these guys can?t play 28 or 30 games a year.

?We?re not there yet, but we?re getting there and I?m lucky that I had an owner in Marco Massotti who?s determined to make the Sharks really good again but there?s still a lot of work to be done.?

Gloucester face up to an important summer after falling short of a cup double. Defeat was more galling because of how the Challenge Cup had been prioritised over league commitments, a strategy that brought about a 90-0 loss to Northampton a fortnight ago. Without sugarcoating the frustrating aspects of a tumultuous campaign, Skivington praised the persistence of Gloucester?s players and staff.

?I?m proud of the group and actually proud of everyone in the building that, once we made a plan, that we stuck to it,? he said.

?We?ve fallen short of getting a second trophy, which is gutting, but I think we?ve shown that when we knuckle down and commit to something, we?re really good. It will be a season of proper lows and proper highs. But we haven?t got too many gripes about how we?ve lost today.?

Pardon me please, and completely off piste,  but ..........  welcome back Joffre Archer.  And with a wicket too.  Has it been two or more years?

What is a " Joffre Archer"?

It should be a cracker. Rooting for Thibaud and Jack but hope Leinster win.

With so much expectation it could be an extreme damp squib bore fest. Unlikely but could.

The story behind biggest gaffe in European rugby history: So bad it is now a dictionary definition

Men behind famous victory ? minus Cl?ment Poitrenaud ? on the try that sealed a memorable Heineken Cup triumph for Wasps
Charles Richardson, Rugby Reporter 22 May 2024 ? 4:14pm


When Wasps arrived at Twickenham on Sunday May 23, 2004, for their maiden European Cup final, they were only just getting started. Warren Gatland?s side had clinched their first Premiership trophy a season earlier but by the time this dynasty had finished, Wasps had won four domestic titles in six seasons and two Heineken Cups.

But at Twickenham in May 2004, Wasps had the chance to prove that they were no one-hit wonders, that they had the potential to become juggernauts on the European rugby scene. The club that is sadly no more, then based in High Wycombe, ran out for their first Heineken Cup final, against Toulouse ? the reigning European champions ? as underdogs.

It was not that Wasps did not possess world-class players ? Josh Lewsey, Stuart Abbott, Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Worsley and Simon Shaw had all recently returned from winning the World Cup with England ? but Toulouse matched them. Barely a name in the French aristocrats? starting XV was not an international, and it boasted some of the most skilful and iconic players of the era; the likes of Fr?d?ric Michalak, Yannick Jauzion and C?dric Heymans in their pomp.

In the end, it was another of one of the most-gifted French players of the noughties, Cl?ment Poitrenaud, who as good as decided the fate of the match ? but for the most disastrous of reasons.

After the match, Poitrenaud said: ?I think I gave one of my best performances for two seasons. Unfortunately, we will only remember this great act of stupidity. I feel especially sorry for my team-mates who had put in a great deal of effort to get back into the match. Now it?s just another day.?

His captain, the great Fabien Pelous, added: ?I don?t really want to speak to Cl?ment right now as... I would say something that I would later regret.?

That great act of stupidity has gone down in European and French folklore, even spawning its own noun in Poitrenaud?s mother tongue. Of a ?Poitrenade? the dictionary reads: ?[Rugby] Clumsiness with disastrous consequences.?

With the game locked at 20-20 and extra time beckoning, Rob Howley threaded an innocuous-looking grubber down the left touchline. The Wasps scrum-half chased valiantly, but it seemed for all the money in the world that, as the ball trickled into the Toulouse in-goal area, Poitrenaud would touch down for a 22-drop-out. The French full-back, then just 22 years old, dithered, waiting for the ball to sit perfectly. During that procrastination, Howley pounced, and the TMO awarded the try. In an instant, Wasps were champions.

A week later, bleary-eyed from their European celebrations, Gatland?s side also defeated Bath at Twickenham in the Premiership final to secure their first double. With the help of Gatland, Howley, Worsley and Trevor Leota, Telegraph Sport tells Wasps? tale.
?The semi-final against Munster on its own was incredible?

Gatland: Europe was a massive goal for us in 2004. We did it the hard way by losing that home game to Celtic Warriors and having to win away in Perpignan ? that game was huge for us. They hadn?t lost at home for 18 months and we played exceptionally well. Then, the Munster semi-final, only about 2,000 Wasps supporters managed to get tickets ? the old Lansdowne Road was packed with Munster fans. Started really well, dominated most of the first half, then Munster came back and got in front and we had to dig deep to win it.

Howley: That loss to Celtic Warriors was a bit of a reality check and a kick up the backside for us. That provoked a response to us to go onto the final. Warren said it was no good being English champions ? which we had been the year before ? but that we had to be European champions. Obviously there?s the individual try for me in the final but the Munster semi-final at Lansdowne Road is one of the best games I?ve been involved in. It was a magical game, great to be a part of.

Leota: I definitely remember that Munster game. An unforgettable one. I scored the winner! One of the highlights of my career.
Trevor Leota scores winning try against Munster
Wasps' route to the final against Toulouse was not easy, they had to beat the might of Munster which they did thanks to a Trevor Leota try Credit: Getty Images/Christopher Lee

Worsley: The whole campaign was pretty epic. The semi-final on its own was incredible, the drama; an amazing day at Lansdowne Road.

The final was an incredibly difficult and tiring game ? but good fun! One of those which went so quickly where you?re just holding on, fitness-wise. I was blowing but somehow kept going. It was one of the most tiring matches I?d ever played in.
?Every time we had a chance we took our points?

Gatland: It was a game that I remember by thinking about how we dealt with their offloading game. But we just took our chances. They?d create chances but then they?d drop the last pass or make a mistake once they were in behind and offloading. We were pretty accurate that day. Every time we had a chance we took our points.

Howley: Toulouse were the better team on the day; their ability to offload, get in behind us, their physicality and their power. But we took our tries! We weren?t really in the game, down in territory, down in possession. When Toulouse went 20-11 down, their experienced internationals didn?t panic. They were able to find a way back to 20-20.

Worsley: The squad we had was pretty incredible. Some aspects of our game plan were quite advanced for that period and those two things coupled up to make us pretty competitive. Still, in that final, we weren?t lucky but... we knew that we had to find a tiny advantage, physically and organisationally, to win that game. Toulouse were pretty good that day.

Gatland: Joe was amazing. We tasked him with looking after Finau Maka, stopping him. I think he made an unbelievable number of tackles.

Worsley: Thirty-three! Several on Maka. It took me a few days to recover from that.

Gatland: It was a sensational performance. Any time Maka got the ball, Joe chopped him straightaway. Maka was so important for them, in terms of getting on the front foot. You couldn?t have picked a better person than Joe to be tasked with that job.


Worsley: The one try they scored was from a poor kick. That was the one opportunity we gave them. We were a very controlled team who could suffocate sides and give them no hope. In attack, Toulouse created chances, but we knew they would create a lot less if we neutralised their powerful runners. That?s something which, tactically, we did.

Howley: One of the most underrated players ? I thought he was world class ? was Fraser Waters. He and Stuart Abbott operated our blitz defence, coached by Shaun Edwards, and teams were not so used to our line speed.

Leota: The boys... we were so close. We were like a family, putting bodies on the line for everyone. It was just nuts. We were under so much pressure. I remember the crowd and the supporters getting behind us. The match was so intense, mate.
?He was dumbfounded, I wasn?t sure I had got the ball down?

With the scores locked at 20-20 and the clock ticking, Wasps kicked the ball dead, opting for territory. Michalak drops out and the ball heads in Howley?s direction. The rest is the stuff of dreams ? or nightmares, for a certain Toulousain No 15.

Howley: It was not great rugby between myself and Tom Voyce ? we let the ball bounce. Then I kicked the ball off my right foot rather than the more sensible left, and I?ve never known a ball bounce as straight or as long as that in my whole rugby career. It arched then kept dead straight. You wouldn?t expect that to happen with the oval ball.

But I never really thought I was in. There was a moment where I thought I might have a slight chance, and I accelerated. The ball took a wicked bounce and Poitrenaud should have dived on it but he?s allowed it to bounce up, thinking it would go perfectly into his hands, but that allowed me to get between his legs and arms to touch down. We all make mistakes but it is seen as the error which has cost them. If it had gone to extra time, who knows? He was dumbfounded. And I wasn?t 100 per cent sure that I?d got the ball down.

Leota: We were just crossing our fingers and hoping.

Howley: After waiting for the TMO, it was total exhilaration. I have dined out on that try many times, which is always nice. The try was just about not giving up. Poitrenaud made a horrendous mistake; you don?t see too many full-backs making those.

Worsley: I saw Poitrenaud a few weeks ago, actually ? I didn?t bring it up! He?s not ever going to want to talk about it.

Howley: For me, it was a shake of the hand and a tap on the back afterwards.

Gatland: I haven?t ever bumped into him. He probably still gets stick to this day! Everyone talks about the winning try, but it?s sometimes forgotten that the scores were 20-20 at that stage. We hadn?t used any replacements. Not because I wasn?t thinking about it but because at 20-20 I thought it was going to extra time ? and they?d used all their subs. I was thinking: ?If we can put all these fresh legs on in extra time then it?s going to make a difference.? Obviously, a brain-freeze from Poitrenaud meant there was no need.

?We had four days on the p--- and we still beat you?

Howley: The celebrations went on into the early hours. We not only partied well on Sunday night but Monday and Tuesday, too. We had a bit of a team run on Thursday and we turned up and still beat Bath the following weekend in the Premiership final.

I still take the mick out of Jonathan Humphreys [former Wales hooker] who was playing for Bath at the time. ?You couldn?t have been that good ? we?d had four days on the p--- and we still beat you!? We trained on the Thursday before Bath but after the Sunday final the celebration spilled into the week. It was worth celebrating.

Gatland: Having the emotion of winning the Heineken Cup ? and the celebrations and hype that goes with that ? and then regrouping and being good enough to win the following week; it was a pretty special six days. I?m very proud of that.

Worsley: I didn?t go out ? didn?t drink a drop! Not after the Toulouse game. I was so tired that I couldn?t do it. I knew there was a game a week later. I always prefer waiting for the right moment before cutting loose. That was after the Bath game. I was knackered ? it wouldn?t have been any fun.

All of us are very proud of doing the double. It?s very hard to do ? especially with a small squad and a lower budget than other sides. There are strange emotions, though, with what happened to Wasps. Immensely proud: of the club and players. But now the club is dead. It?s a strange feeling.

Howley: My father had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the previous October. I was just grateful and proud that my mum, dad and sister were able to watch that match. He died five months later, in October 2004.


Leota: People say [I?m a cult hero] but I just thank the man upstairs. I got the chance to play with some great people, great team-mates. I definitely didn?t expect any of it as a young boy going over to England, trying to make my mark and get something out of it. Winning all the titles was a bonus.

Gatland: We had some great fans, too. There was no better feeling than going into the West car park after the game ? my wife was there, all the sponsors, some supporters, and the staff with their partners ? with the trophy to have a few drinks. They were always special times for us as a group.

Howley: It?s something you?ll never forget.

500 th Pro game for Jimmy Gopps this weekend

https://twitter.com/jimmygopps/status/1791398911598280972?t=cTjRUYFS4RJPOYf0AjmtXQ&s=19

Still top I think.

Paul Sackey: I?m hurt rugby has tried to keep up with others ? it needs to rein spending in

Salary cap for Premiership teams will rise to ?6.4 million next season, but former London Irish and Wasps wing says clubs must be cautious
Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer 14 May 2024 ? 5:03pm


Paul Sackey, the former England wing, has urged the club game to ?rein in? spending and consolidate after a period that has seen two of his old clubs, London Irish and Wasps, go to the wall.

Sackey, who has become the inaugural inductee into Premiership Rugby?s Hall of Fame, presented by Gallagher, is now commercial director at York City FC.

The 44-year-old scored a total of 69 tries in the top flight, putting him 10th on the all-time Premiership list, and won the competition twice with Wasps in 2005 and 2008.

Over the course of last season, Wasps and London Irish were two of three Premiership clubs to fold. Sackey, who holds both of those sides dear, suggested that overambition had been a key factor in those two ?horror stories?.

With the salary cap set to rise again next season from a base of ?5 million to ?6.4 million, he hopes that clubs still cut their cloth according to the resources at their disposal and resist any temptation to overreach.

?I know that Premiership Rugby are trying their hardest to make the product more exciting but, originally, it felt like we had a salary cap for a reason,? he said. ?That was to keep everything running at a certain level and everyone was on the same playing field.

?I think that the salary cap going higher and higher, with the way other sports are paying people, means we?ve had to jump on that bandwagon and pay people certain money because that?s the way things were going. Originally, we had the salary cap because we knew we weren?t as popular as other sports, so we had to rein it in a little bit.

?As a product, I thought we were doing really, really well. The Heineken Cup was really good. But everything evolved and the money that came in was so much that it was half-killing teams. It?s like we have to have billionaire owners now, which is hard work because a lot of them want to be in football because there?s more exposure. I just love the sport so much and I?m hurt because two of my teams are not with us at the moment.

?I?m hurt and there needs to be some sort of a change, or a stance that says: ?We?re not there yet, so we need to rein it in so teams can survive and strive?. It upsets me. I?ve transitioned over to football and I?ve seen the same things, teams striving to be Premier League teams when they can?t and [they] have to understand their level. I think that?s where rugby is at the moment.?

Despite acknowledging that rugby union has been ?lagging behind a bit? on the commercial front, Sackey does enjoy the prominence that wings are afforded in the modern game.

?I?m not going to be sitting here bitter and going: ?In my day it was harder,?? he said. ?Everything evolves, for better or for worse. I?m not bitter about how they?re making more money, that?s just the way it is. We were making more money than the generation before us.

?I believe that wingers are now more involved. Back in the day, the game was a bit more safe and everyone was all about territory. Now, I think they are trying to make it more exciting because they have to. The product has to be more exciting, otherwise there won?t be any eyes on it.?

?I wasn?t a winger that shied away,? Sackey added. ?I liked to get involved, so I think I?d like to play in this era. I think I?d have fun, I think I?d enjoy it. I think I?d score more tries as well.?

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.