Rugby union is set to abandon nearly all the radical experimental law variations (ELVs) that have been trialled this season, according to Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times.
"Since their introduction to international rugby in the summer of 2008, there has been widespread criticism of the ELVs from players and coaches in the northern hemisphere. However, it now appears that the demand for them to be scrapped stretches across the rugby world.
"Our investigation of all the major unions indicates that among the experiments to be rejected is the measure allowing mauls to be collapsed, which has left the field packed with defenders; the “sanctions” experiment, trialled Down Under and fervently espoused by Australia, under which almost all penalties become free kicks; and the change by which teams can place as many players as they like in the lineout. The Rugby Football Union has described this last-named intervention as “messy, and leading to more kicking”."
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