At last! Common sense rules!

Explanation: But it's good to see the referees taking control

Anybody notice a difference between North and South this weekend? Here's a clue: 9-0 and 6-3 v 50-32 and 47-22.

Or, to put it another way, two matches, no tries and six penalties v two matches, eighteen tries and twelve penalties.

Of course it would be unfair to make a direct comparison between the two hemispheres without taking the climatic conditions into account (no one can deny that a Highveld afternoon offers vastly different prospects to an evening kick-off in London - especially in February), but it seems even when it comes to kicking at goal, the South is upping the ante now, all thanks to a refreshingly common sense initiative.

The zero tolerance initiative requested by Super 14 coaches, adhered to by referees and bought into, slowly but surely, by the players, has been a roaring success.

Not only is it vindication of the southern unions' ideal that something needed to change, it is also vindication of the northern unions' opinions that it was not something inherently wrong in the laws of the game, it was merely a better use of the existing laws.

Despite the two factions having been at loggerheads throughout the whole ELVs shenanigans, they were both right.

The referees in the South must be applauded for sticking to their task diligently, just as the players must also take credit for helping themselves.

It all means that thus far, while fans in the North face an ever-more soporific wait for something to happen in their matches, fans in the South are perpetually on the edge of their seat as the scoreboard ticks on and on in all manners - tries, penalties, drop goals... they've all been on the increase. Not just tries.

In the first week of Super 14 there were marginally more penalties per game than in the Six Nations in most matches, but crucially, they were given much faster at the tackle breakdown (and many more at that point too) so the ball was never slow and rarely buried under a pile of bodies.

That's very important, that increase in all forms of scoring. The chief criticism of the ELVs was the decrease in structure of the game, the limitation of options from free-kicks, the generic way teams went about running the ball. The variety, the tactical variations and nuances of different teams were stripped.

Not this season. Some teams are kicking, others running. Most employ a mixture of the two, with the most effective mixture coming out on top. Teams not quick or clever enough at the breakdown and not willing to rely on their own defence are being punished - as the Blues found out when losing to eight Hurricanes penalties.

This has had a knock-on effect. The number of kicks per game in the Super 14 is twenty less than in the Six Nations: 72-52. Some may cite the tighter tactics required at international level, but who wouldn't be willing to bet that it has a lot to do with the cleaner quicker ball coming from Super Rugby rucks.

Defences are still tight, but now the runner has to be truly isolated before a defence can effect a turnover - unless the attacking team gets lax and doesn't commit enough players to a ruck, in which case the defence can simply pile numbers in and drive over. Both those principles have been in the laws of the game for time immemorial.

The net result is that the poaching specialists like Heinrich Brussouw and Richie McCaw - who were already pushing the limits of the law - now have far less leeway at the breakdown. Brussouw's impact so far this season has been largely nullified and we're all waiting on tenterhooks to see now McCaw handles the change.

Both will no doubt adapt, but it's clear that only those with perfect technique and timing will have any chance of stealing the ball, unlike the 'let's all dive in and try our luck approach' adopted by some in the past.

Some say defences are now being given too short shrift, but as the Stormers showed on Saturday, defence and predatory instincts can win you matches the hard way, just as the Bulls and Hurricanes showed how to win matches the complete way and the Chiefs showed what happens when you slip off the pace even for just a few minutes.

Significantly the number of re-set scrums has also taken a nose dive. That bastion of the northern game is as important as it ever was, but we'll all sick of watching the set piece collapse upon itself at nauseam.

The simple solution seems to have been to make sure that both teams follow the pre-scrum protocol to the letter and the slight delay in the 'engage' call has assured the front rows hit simultaneously, rather that one jumping the gun and the other automatically buckling.

In the North, referees still practice zero tolerance 'shouting at players for a few seconds before blowing the whistle', but it is that few seconds players are trying to buy.

The game is faster now, as the Super 14 has demonstrated. Officiating up North needs to get up to speed so the game can.

In the South it's the same laws, but better policing. Vive la difference!. Watch the slow and dowdy Six Nations this weekend. Plus ça change.

The obvious question now is, what will happen in June when the Europeans head South for the mid-year Test window? No prizes for guessing which set of interpretations we'd like to see used, but would that be fair on the tourists?

Surely it would be taking a step in the wrong direction to tell those in the South that they are allowed to return to their old delaying tactics. So what's to do? Answers on a postcard please...

By Danny Stephens and Ross Hastie