Rugby Union | Blogs | Editor's Blog

« Should we stick with the play-off format? | | Lions gather for the first time »

May 17, 2009

Posted on 05/17/2009

IRB move the goalposts

Amid last week's fanfare surrounding the confirmed bids to host the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups, the IRB put the final nail in the coffin of the controversial Experimental Law Variations (ELVs). Of course they put a positive spin on the issue highlighting the 10 minor ELVs that will be passed into law.

But of particular note was their ruling that, "the integrated set of Laws will be implemented globally from May 23 or from the start of the next domestic season where competitions transcend the implementation date".

This means that the Lions will not be playing under the global ELVs when they tackle the Springboks in their three-Test series. So those trials which currently allow mauls to be pulled down and unlimited numbers at the lineout will be no more come the first Test in Durban on June 20.

But before you celebrate the impending re-birth of the maul have some sympathy for Lions head coach Ian McGeechan who will surely have picked his squad believing the ELVs would be in play. With the maul now back as a key part of the Lions' weaponry McGeechan may or may not be wishing he had made different selections but either way the IRB's decision to implement the revised laws so soon is a little thoughtless.

If the Lions didn't have enough to worry about trying to conjure a team from a group of talented individuals in just a few weeks - those players now need to get used to playing under different rules to those which they have been battling it out under for the last year.

At least the change is the same for the Springboks - yet their coach Peter de Villiers will not name his squad until June 1 allowing him to get his head around any possible changes in personnel.

In the words of Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers.

Feedback

Comments

Post your comment

Posting Guidelines

Name:

Email Address:

Comments:

characters left