Sir Clive Woodward ‘not a fan’ of World Rugby’s constant law tweaks before ex-England boss reveals his proposals
World Rugby chair Brett Robinson and CEO Alan Gilpin, and two players competing for a high ball.
Sir Clive Woodward has not been impressed by World Rugby’s penchant for amending the laws, but that didn’t stop the England great from offering his ideas.
The governing body have made a number of subtle changes over recent seasons in an attempt to speed up the game and in their eyes make it more entertaining for the fans.
That includes the removal of blockers when competing for the high ball, which has certainly made it more difficult for the defending team to gain possession.
It has divided observers but Woodward is one of those to be very much against the law tweak, believing that it has had a negative impact on the game.
‘More and more kicking’
“World Rugby is forever tweaking the game’s laws. I’m not a fan,” he wrote in his Daily Mail column.
“The ban on escort runners blocking opposition players chasing a kick has made the aerial battle one of the most important areas of the game. But the result has been more and more kicking, which is not the most entertaining for fans.”
Woodward cannot see World Rugby reverting back and allowing ‘escorts’ but, despite venting his frustration at the governing body’s amendments, the 2003 Rugby World Cup winner has offered some proposals of his own.
The 70-year-old agrees that the game could be sped up and reckons more pressure needs to be put on the scrum-half when they are looking to kick.
“I’m not sure how you stop that now, but one thing that can be changed is the time a scrum-half is given to play the ball at a ruck or maul. The game is still too slow, with No 9s allowed to roll the ball back and protect themselves by using forwards to form a ‘caterpillar’ ruck,” he wrote.
“I’d insist a scrum-half has to use the ball within two seconds of the referee telling him to. The current rule is five, which is still way too long. That would only serve to increase the speed of the game which is something everyone wants.”
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TMO usage
The other suggestion simply revolves around the referees and taking more responsibility for decisions, with Woodward claiming that there is an overuse of the television match official.
“I’d also like to see top referees have greater courage of their convictions and use the television match official less,” he added.
“Yes, we want the right calls to be made. But we’ve got to a stage where the TMO is becoming more important than the referee on the field because they are making all the big calls. That can’t be right.
“The PREM matches between Bath and Northampton and Exeter and Leicester over Christmas were dominated by the TMO.”
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