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World Rugby launches new simplified law book

By Online Editors
World Rugby releases new rule book

Making rugby’s laws easier to understand for all is the objective behind the simplified law book, which will be introduced globally from 1 January, 2018.

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Approved at the November World Rugby Council meeting, the simplified law book is designed to make the laws easier to understand while not altering the meaning of them or how the game is played.

The book is the product of nearly two years’ work by a specially constituted group of experts and follows a comprehensive consultation and feedback process with World Rugby’s 120 member unions and all six regional associations. The eight-person group includes law experts, referees, a club coach, a sports scientist as well as a web designer/illustrator.

The result is a law book that is more logically laid out, clearer in its explanations and 42 per cent shorter than the current version.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “As our game continues to grow around the world, we continue to strive to make the sport as accessible to all. The laws can be difficult to understand for new participants and fans and the new law book goes a long way towards simplifying it and making it easier to understand for players, coaches, referees and the viewing public.

“This has been a truly collaborative effort with every union given the opportunity to contribute. I’d like to thank them and the working group for their full commitment to a comprehensive and important process. I believe what they have produced will make a big difference to the game.”

Law Simplification Group: Mark Harrington (World Rugby Head of Technical Services and club head coach), Tappe Henning (Scottish Rugby Union Referee Manager and former international referee), Dr Ross Tucker (sports scientist), Rod Hill (New Zealand Rugby Referee Manager), Chris Cuthbertson (Chairman RFU Laws Committee), James Fitzgerald (World Rugby Media Manager and former international referee), Adam Pearson (web designer/illustrator).

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The new law book will shortly be printed and distributed in the usual way while an online version will go live on 1 January. As there is no difference in law between the two books, either version can be used for the remainder of the 2017-18 season in the northern hemisphere.

Editors’ Notes

The new simplified law book is:
Shorter – it is almost half the length of the previous book (42 per cent shorter).
Easier to read – it features plain language with fewer subordinate clauses
More logical – the laws have been rearranged to make them more logical and sequential with contradictions and repetitions removed.
Easier to understand – it now scores 7.26 in the Gunning Fog Index compared to 10.6 previously. Those numbers roughly equate to years of formal education required to understand the book fully.
Easier to translate into other languages.

Process undertaken:
The Law Simplification Group was set up by Rugby Committee in late 2015 with the task of making the law easier to read and understand.
The group met for two multi-day, face-to-face workshops (in February and July 2016) and a total of six teleconferences in a 12-month period to produce the first draft of the book.
That draft was sent out for validation to independent law experts from England, Canada, Australia, Romania and Kenya with all responses assessed and, if appropriate, adopted by the group.
This latest draft was then distributed to all World Rugby member unions and to each of the six regional associations for further detailed feedback.
There was also careful consultation with the rugby judicial and disciplinary community to ensure the new book corresponded effectively with judicial rules and processes.
In September, 2017, Rugby Committee approved the book and recommended it for adoption by World Rugby Council.
On 15 November, 2017, Council gave its full approval for the adoption of the new law book on 1 January, 2018.

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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