World Rugby’s new free kick rule a blow to Boks

In an effort to make rugby more entertaining and to speed up the game, World Rugby have introduced three law changes, one of them being that teams will no longer be able to opt for a scrum when awarded a free kick.

This will directly impact teams with powerful set-pieces, such as the Springboks, who’ve often opted for a scrum when awarded a free kick. Rassie Erasmus’ team, thanks to their all-powerful scrum, have used the tactic to win scrum penalties.

A case in point was at last year’s World Cup in France when Bok fullback Damian Willemse famously marked a ball inside his own 22m area and immediately called for a scrum when awarded the free kick, rather than tap the ball and kick to touch.

Teams encouraged to play

The law changes will come into effect on July 1 and be applicable during the Test series between the Boks and Ireland in July.

World Rugby said removing the scrum as an option would encourage teams to play on by tapping the ball or kicking it, thus speeding up the game.

Another change concerns when players are put onside during kicks in open play, meaning anyone offside must now try to retreat, creating more space in which to play for the opposition.

Under the existing rule, referred to as the ‘Dupont Law’ after the France scrumhalf Antoine Dupont exposed the loophole in the previous wording, players in an offside position were able to advance forward once an opponent caught the ball and ran five metres or passed the ball.

The upshot was prolonged bouts of ‘kick tennis’ which often proved frustrating to watch for spectators.
The third and final change announced Thursday was the banning of the “crocodile roll” — the potentially dangerous act of rolling a player who is on their feet out of the tackle area. The offence will now be punished by a penalty.

World Rugby has also announced the trial of a revised red card process that will be observed in competition such as the WXV women’s tournament and the Pacific Nations Cup.

It will see automatic bans applied for red cards involving foul play, while a player sent off can be replaced by another player from the bench after 20 minutes, restoring a side to its full strength of 15 players.