Former Irish referees boss Owen Doyle has warned World Rugby that the Southern Hemisphere’s law tweaks could ruin the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson has hinted that further trials may be conducted next year, ahead of the tournament in Australia, with the shape of the game conference taking place in February next year.
This comes after a plethora of changes were made following the 2023 tournament in France, and bemoaned the fact that the northern and southern hemispheres seldom see eye-to-eye on the laws.
World Rugby law trials
“After the 2023 World Cup, we did a lot of work, listening to our fans, and there was some research that was presented throughout the game about the things that were really frustrating our fans,” Robinson said on the Rugby Unity podcast with Eddie Jones and David Pembroke.
“And those primarily were too much senseless kicking, laws and management of the game that wasn’t promoting teams to attack, and then finally, there was just too much dead time. So since 2023, we have made some progress on some of those things and in some we haven’t.
“There’ve been changes to shot clocks, we’re trying to remove dumb and senseless actions like a not straight throw into a lineout and if no contest.
“The introduction of the 20-minute red card was really frustrating because it took us a lot longer, because some of our friends in the northern hemisphere needed to better understand it.”
Robinson further revealed that an independent review will be conducted on the process, power and influence that the TMOs have on the game.
South will ruin the World Cup
Writing in his Irish Times column, Doyle slammed the loosened laws around the lineouts and warned the governing body that the World Cup could turn into something more rugby league-like if they continue to allow the southern hemisphere to tinker with the laws.
He argues that the northern hemisphere unions lack the elite laws, knowledge, and organisation to understand the impact changes will have on the game
“There are several key issues at play. The lineout proposal – which nonsensically requires a team to put up a contesting jumper to ensure crooked throws are penalised – has been lobbied to global trial level, but it can still be stopped,” he wrote.
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“Relevant people should demand that rugby’s co-ordinated skills of throwing, lifting and catching remain central to rugby. Instead, we get too many crooked throws, no contests, double banking and illegally-driven unstoppable mauls.
“Each and every proposal needs to be robustly critiqued before being accepted or rejected as necessary. The northern hemisphere unions don’t appear to be organised, but it’s essential that each union has a knowledgeable, elite laws group working in tandem with the Six Nations. It is the essential cog in this critical wheel.
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“It was key in the last-minute rejection of several experimental laws proposed by “the south” in 2009. While that debate should never be viewed in terms of winners or losers, it was definitely about what was best for the sport’s long-term interests.
“And, right now, that’s where the game finds itself again. If any more of the south’s ideas are taken on board, then we will have a World Cup in Australia all right – it just won’t be rugby union.”