Ben Youngs has called for the goal-line drop-out law to be scrapped, claiming that \u201cthe balance is wrong \u201c, as the defending team can \u201cbang\u201d the ball 60 metres back, giving the advantage to the defence.<\/p>\n
Speaking on his podcast, For The Love Of Rugby,\u00a0Youngs<\/a> said: \u201cI am not a fan of this rule. I do not like it.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re held up, your reward is a goal-line drop-out where the best kickers in the world all bang it about 60 metres. So, you\u2019ve worked hard to get yourself in a position to score a try, only to get held up, and then you have to start again 60 metres out.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that rule needs changing, addressing now. I\u2019m not saying it goes back to what it was, a five-metre scrum, but I do think there needs to be something done.<\/p>\n \u201cA goal-line drop out for a team to hoof it 60 metres is not a reward for doing all that work to be held up. You\u2019ve got to reward the defence for holding them up, absolutely, but a goal-line drop-out when people bang it that far\u2026 I feel like the balance is wrong there.\u201d<\/p>\n Balance is needed<\/p>\n Dan Cole<\/a>, playing devil\u2019s advocate, said: \u201cIt\u2019s tough because the game has got to the point where you get to the five-metre line and you bludgeon your way over. It\u2019s pick and go, pick and go, pick and go, pick and go. We saw that a few years ago, where basically the game was more to pick and go, and it\u2019s come back that way around again.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, as the defence, you need to have some reward for defending multiple phases. And if you do hold a guy up over the try-line, you should get some form of reward.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s difficult because the attack has to be accurate, but you do have 100 chances on a pick and go, and the one time you get to go over the goal line, the defence should be rewarded. But at the same time, it doesn\u2019t really reward attacking rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n Cole stressed that rugby should not revert to a five-metre scrum after the ball being held up, because that doesn\u2019t reward the defensive effort at all.<\/p>\n