Experimental law variations

The experimental law variations (ELVs) were a proposed set of amendments to the laws of rugby union. They were proposed by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), and trialled games at Stellenbosch University in 2006. In 2008 thirteen of the 23 variations trialled were played globally including; greater responsibility for assistant referees, corner posts no longer considered to touch in-goal, no gain in ground if the ball is moved into the 22-metre line by a player from the same team as the kicker, quick throw ins can travel backwards, no restrictions to players in the lineout, restrictions on where receivers and opposition hookers can stand in a lineout, pregripping and lifting allowed, mauls can be pulled down and players can enter with their head and shoulders lower than their hips, offside line is five metres away from the scrum for the backs and scrum half must be positioned close to the scrum, all offences apart from foul play and offsides are a free kick, and unplayable rucks and mauls are restarted with a free kick. In 2009 the IRB approved ten of the laws, rejecting the laws relating to mauls, numbers in a lineout and the increase in sanctions punishable by free kicks.

Before the law amendments the Laws of Rugby Union book from the International Rugby Board stretched to 190 pages, much of them covering the contest for possession and continuity of play, which are key features of the union code and are developed more extensively than in other forms of football. The contest for possession in or after a tackle is complex and so are the laws governing it. Rugby League and American Football overcome this by abolishing any contest — play stops after a successful tackle and there is no subsequent contest for possession until the next play. In rugby union the ongoing contest for the ball at the "breakdown" is one of the most important and integral aspects of the game, something that makes it unique in the world of football.

The problems observed with the previous laws mostly revolve around one fact; that in practice the contest for the ball was often halted through law infringements. Different referees used different interpretations of the complex laws, and many games are decided by penalty goals awarded by referees for infringements that were not immediately obvious to observers or even the players.

The Stellenbosch ELVs were based on proposals made in the mid 2000s, and came to wider prominence following the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Outgoing IRB president Syd Millar explained that in his opinion amendments were needed because delays in the release of the ball from the contest for possession were having adverse effects. In his view, the domination of defence over attack was slowing the continuity of play, exemplified by what some viewers considered a dour final match in which no tries were scored.

Millar said that the game needed to be sped up a bit, to make it easier to play, easier to referee, easier to understand and to produce more options for the players. The amendments concentrate on rucks and mauls, but include other aspects which help keep the ball in play and reduce stoppages for infringements and penalties.

The Experimental Law Variations (ELV's) were devised on behalf of the IRB by The Laws Project Group (LPG), which was set up by the IRB's Rugby Committee in 2006 and comprises: Chairman and IRB Council member Bill Nolan; IRB Development Manager Bruce Cook; former World Cup winning Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen; former Springbok coach Ian McIntosh; former Scottish coach Richie Dixon; former French player, coach and former IRB Regional Development Manager Pierre Villepreux; former All Black captain and Wellington coach Graham Mourie and the IRB Referee Manager Paddy O'Brien.^{[citation needed]}. The Laws Project Group was dissolved in April 2009 after selected ELV's were incorporated into the Laws of Rugby.

The proposed law amendments were:

After the initial trials at Stellenbosch University, the laws were enacted in the following competitions;