Armchair Playmaker is a big fan of the Experimental Law Variations that rugby union has been exploring for the last few years, so we’re generally happy to see that 13 of them will be used in a one-year global trial from 1 August 2008. In general, the ELVs are meant to make the game quicker and easier to understand for players, referees, and supporters alike. For more on the ELVs and their application, see the guide released by the International Rugby Board.
Some detractors, such as 2007 IRB player of the year Bryan Habana, claim that the ELVs will make rugby union more like rugby league. If he means that we’ll actually start seeing some tries, perhaps he’s right.
In any case, the ELVs will surely get interesting when they hit the lower levels. In Armchair Playmaker’s homeland of the United States, for example, there are over 76,000 registered members of USA Rugby. A lot of those members are players refereed by part-timers making 50 USD or so to referee a match. A lot of them rely on general memories from their playing days for most of their laws know-how, leading to more than a few errors on the finer points of advantage, when to award a 22-meter dropout vs. a 5-meter scrum, how crooked a lineout throw has to be to merit a sanction, when to award a free kick instead of a penalty, etc., etc. How will they handle the ELVs?
Armchair Playmaker says full speed ahead. If a lot of lower-level referees are getting things wrong already, then maybe a major law overhaul will force them to learn not just the ELVs, but those laws they should already know. And if not, then they’ll just get the new laws wrong just as they did the old ones. If the ELVs make the sport more exciting, then more interest = more new referees. Maybe they’ll be more studious than some of the old ones!
What do you think? Comment below and share your thoughts on the ELVs and how you think they’ll be handled by referees, etc.
