Shaun Edwards is pleased that the changes to the breakdown reinvigorated the Guinness Premiership in the second half of the season in The Guardian.
"Throw me an unmarked DVD of any match in the 2009-10 Premiership season and, within seconds, I'll tell you whether it was played before or after February. The Leicester v Saracens final – what a sensational game that was – simply emphasised the difference between the rugby we saw initially and what we ended up with, thanks to the revised refereeing interpretations at the breakdown. Chalk and cheese is an understatement. There is no question the balance of the game has shifted for the better.
"I still believe it was a brave decision by those in high places. In the end they had to acknowledge the "other way" wasn't working. Referees were being told to referee in a manner that simply wasn't encouraging phase-play rugby. I'm a defensive coach and well over 50% of my time was being spent teaching people how to kill the ball or how to catch up-and-unders. Thank God, that's no longer the case.
"The result has been contests like last Saturday's. I thought the first half, in particular, was outstanding, although this season has also underlined the value of good prop forwards. Rugby union, without doubt, is now a 23-man game. Both Heineken Cup semi-finals and the Leicester v Bath Premiership semi-final were effectively settled by props coming off the bench. That's why the best ones are now among the highest-paid players in the world."
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