Law changes this season in club rugby

The upcoming Wellington club season will be played with several law changes in effect, with World Rugby having brought them into force from 1 January 2016 in the southern hemisphere, and 1 July 2016 in the northern.

Most of the changes are relatively minor and in some cases align the law book with current practice. However there are some with greater effect, particularly with the scrum.

These are not the more expansive trial laws which will be on show in the rebranded NPC Mitre10 Cup later this year, with the WRFU having chosen not to implement those into its competition.

A brief summary of each change is:

Unfair Play

• Players who falsely indicate (waving of arms, diving, etc) that an offence has been committed by the opposition, are liable to being penalised.

Scrum

• Teams must be ready to set a scrum within 30 seconds of the referee making the mark.  
• Front rows must crouch and bind so that they are ear-to-ear with their opponents.
• The halfback of the team that has not won the ball must keep both feet behind the ball as it moves through the scrum, nor step into the space between the flanker and the No.8.
• If the scrum wheels through 90° the scrum will be reset and the ball will be throw-in by the team that threw it into the original scrum. There is no longer a turnover of possession.
• If the ball is at the No. 8’s feet and the scrum is NOT moving forward, the referee will call “Use it!” The ball must then be released from the scrum immediately.

Advantage Law

• Play may continue when a scrum collapses IF the ball is available to be played (usually by the halfback or No. 8). The ball must be played.

Maul

• The ball in a maul must be passed backwards from player to player. No player may ‘slip’ backwards, or forwards, in a maul.

Penalty Kick or Free Kick

• The mark for Penalty Kicks and Free Kicks must be at least 5m from the goalline for both the attacking and defending teams. Previously a penalty or free kick to the defending team between the goalline and 5m line was taken at the place of infringement

Lineout formation

• No player may stand within 5m of the touchline and block or prevent the ball from being thrown-in. The team that is not throwing-in to the lineout are still required to have a player standing at least 2m from the 5m line, and at least 2m from the line of touch

Throw Forward

• The definition of a Throw Forward has been reworded. A throw forward now occurs when a player throws or passes the ball forward, i.e, if the arms of the player passing the ball move towards the opposing team’s dead ball line. The actual movement of the ball is irrelevant.

Lastly, the trial being used in Super Rugby that allows a team to kick for touch to set up a lineout after time has expired will not be used in Wellington rugby.