Law 3.5(h) Front Row Replacements and Substitutions.
This variation is designed to discourage teams from going to uncontested scrums. In the event of teams losing suitable front row players due to sending off or injury, the match continues with uncontested scrums with both teams supplying eight players. This would force one of the backs to come in as a flanker and would leave the defensive line reduced. Bath almost had to play with 14 men last season against Northampton when both hookers were injured. Instead the reserve tight head stepped up, and scrums continued contested. This variation would hopefully cause more of the same.
Law 5.7(e) Other Time Considerations.
Currently, if a penalty, free kick or mark is given when time has expired, play goes on until the ball next goes dead. The problem comes when a penalty is given too far away from the posts to have a shot or you're more than 3 points behind, and you want to go for touch to have the lineout. The lineout would be killing the ball so the game is over. The variation will let the lineout take place and the game continues until the ball goes dead.
Law 8.1(a) Advantage in Practise.
Law 9.A.1 Points Values.
We all love watching tries being scored and get bored with teams just endlessly kicking at the posts. So now the trial is to alter the points scored. Now the scoring will be like so:
Try - 6 points
Conversion - 2 points
Penalty kick - 2 points
Drop Goal - 2 points.
Further, in the event of a penalty try being awarded, the kick is ignored and an automatic eight points is awarded.
Law 13.3, 13.7, 13.8, 13.9 Kick-off and Restarts.
To keep the ball in play as long as possible and to punish poor kicking, as in Sevens, a kick which does not go the necessary 10 meters or goes directly into touch, a free kick at the centre spot is awarded. No scrum option is given, which means the ball goes live immediately rather than waste time on a scrum.
Law 19 Touch.
Law 20.1(g) Forming a Scrum.
The success of a reduction impact to the front row after the change in scrum commands have lead to another change to be trialled. The completions rate still remains low at the top level, despite a reduce in impact and injuries. So now the following will happen:
The referee calls "Crouch" then "Bind."
At "Crouch" the front rows will be shoulder to shoulder with their opposite number, stable and supporting their own weight without pushing.
"Bind" will call the props to position their arms in the correct position as per the current laws.
All players tighten their binds and set for the throw in.
Law 20.5 Throwing the Ball into the Scrum.
This one is designed to encourage the hooker to hook. The hooker gives a signal to his 9 saying he is ready for the ball to go in, giving an advantage to the team throwing in. But there's another change...
Law 20.6 How Scrum-half Throws the Ball into Scrum.
The scrum half must throw the ball in straight. (Side note - yes I know, it doesn't really happen, but stay with me.) The trial keeps the straight rule, but where it previously was "any part of the ball must touch the centre line," the scrum half can now align his shoulder with the centre line and put the ball in straight. This means that any crooked feed would go straight underneath the second row and would be glaringly obvious. It may also bring the rare beast of a scrum half with excessively broad shoulders.
Law 20.11 Wheeling the Scrum.
Law 22.13 Attacking Infringement with Scrum Sanction.
Basically a knock on/forward pass in goal. This variation is giving an option to the defending team - either the traditional scrum 5 metres out or a 5m drop out, with the same rules as a 22 drop out. This is interesting, as it takes away the risk of successive penalties going against the defending team, and it means the ball can be cleared away from the goal line. This also affects Law 22.16 (Infringements in Goal) which would say the same thing as above.
There are some more variations with the ball going into touch, wheeling the scrum and advantage in practise which I have alluded to, but not gone into detail. This is because this post has had a lot of detail about the minor ones and the other variations took me and my dad (who is also a referee) half an hour to pick out the specifics and how these would affect the game. So to save my typing fingers, I will publish another article later today which will also tell you where these trials will take place. We won't be seeing them in the Premiership but you may want to follow them because we will see them in the Under 20's World Cup next year. See you soon!
