World Rugby progress 12 Trial Laws into full time use - Ruck

World Rugby progress 12 Trial Laws into full time use

  • Package of 12 law trials currently operational globally approved for adoption into law with immediate effect
  • Law simplification, player welfare and playing experience underpin amendments
  • The approval follows a comprehensive four-year process starting with 140 union submissions and culminating with players, coaches, referees, fans and media having their say via global social media survey
  • Global feedback overwhelmingly positive
The World Rugby Council has unanimously decided to adopt into law the complete package of 12 law amendments that are currently under global trial.

Approval follows an approval recommendation by the Rugby Committee after comprehensive evaluation of trial performance from playing, coaching, match officiating, fan and player welfare perspectives by the specialist 15s Laws Review Group (LRG).

With the global law trials having operated since August in the northern hemisphere and January in the southern hemisphere, the amendments come into effect immediately and will be codified with immediate effect.

In short, the law amendments that have been adopted into law are:

  1. Uncontested scrums must have eight players (Law 3.15)
  2. Permit kick to touch after time has elapsed (Law 5.7c)
  3. Where multiple penalty infringements the non-offending team can choose the most advantageous (Law 7.2d)
  4. Penalty try has no conversion (Law 8.1c, 8.3 and 8.7)
  5. Touch, 22m and in goal simplification (Law 18)
  6. Scrum – no signal from ref (Law 19.22)
  7. Scrum – alignment of scrum-half (Law 19.15f)
  8. Scrum – compulsory strike (LRG insist that for player welfare purposes this is a compulsory strike by the hooker (Law 19.22)
  9. Scrum – Allow number eight to pick up from second row of scrum (Law 19.36c)
  10. Tackler must get up before playing the ball and then can only play from their side of the tackle gate (Law 14.6)
  11. Change in pre-ruck offside line formation – at least one player on their feet and over the ball which is on the ground (Law 14.11)
  12. No kicking out of ruck (Law 15)