In his weekly column in The Guardian, Shaun Edwards is hopeful that the presence of With two enlightened referees in Cardiff and Twickenham this weekend could witness a welcome sea change in the way rugby is played.
"Forgive the obsession if that's what it is but, if you had spent much of the past two years coaching players how to deal with high balls or stay within the law, as currently applied, at the tackle area, you'd also be happy at what appears to be a chink of light in the gloom.
“Look at the team-sheets for this weekend's internationals in Cardiff and London and you'll see a couple of South African names – Jonathan Kaplan, who is refereeing our game tonight in Cardiff against France, and Mark Lawrence, who is looking after England versus Ireland at Twickenham tomorrow.
“Both are experienced referees - Kaplan has 55 Tests behind him, including six involving Wales, and Lawrence has 21, five of them with England - but their particular relevance this weekend is the attitude they bring with them. If everything goes well, we might be in at the start one of those sea changes in the way rugby is played - and a change for the better at that."
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