Rugby: 20-minute red card, end of the “Dupont law” and the “croc roll”… World Rugby wants to make the game more “entertaining”

World Rugby has revealed a review of rule developments aimed at "modernizing the entertaining nature of rugby", including the possibility of 20-minute penalties for red cards, acceleration of the ball from the scrum and maul, and a fixed time to complete scrums and throw-ins. The governing body fears slow play and “negative” tactics will alienate new viewers. The emphasis will be placed on “more fluid circulation of the ball, reduction of interruptions of play and reduction of impacts on health”. World Rugby wishes in particular to ban so-called “crocodile roll” clearances, when a player grabs an opponent (who is protecting a ruck) by the torso to roll him to the side. A gesture that can cause knee injuries. A specialist working group will be set up to study a new sanction in the event of a red card, according to which the place of the sanctioned player on the field could be occupied by a teammate after 20 minutes, which would cancel the numerical superiority of the team opponent. However, there are also plans to strengthen off-field sanctions for fouls, which could result in a longer suspension for offending players.

World Rugby will also look at the number and timing of substitutions "to promote the creation of space on the pitch while reducing the risk of injury", which could lead to the end of the Springboks' famous "Bomb Squad" (a substitute bench with six forwards and only two backs), used to win the last two World Cups. Effective immediately, referees must instruct players to use the ball after a spontaneous scrum or regroup, triggering a five-second delay for them to do so. This measure aims to prevent teams from gaining time before starting the game.

The World Rugby Council will also consider further amendments at its meeting on May 9, with “adjustments to Rule 10 regarding players in play for kicking in current play, in line with ongoing testing in Super Rugby Pacific, which aims to reduce episodes of ping-pong rugby”, which has been called the “Dupont law” and led to grotesque game sequences. A trial is currently underway in the Super Rugby Pacific competition, in which players in front of the kicker can only be brought into play by the kicker himself who is advancing, or by a chasing teammate who has started behind the kicker.

Article 10.7 of the World Rugby regulations - spotted by the scrum half of Stade Toulousain and the XV of France - authorizes lunar sequences of play: the players located in the middle of the exchange between the two scorers are put back into play They remain stationary more than ten meters from the ball carrier before he takes another kick, pass or runs five meters with the ball. From then on, and this is the perverse aspect of this “Dupont law”, the players in the middle of the field (mainly the forwards who no longer exhaust themselves going back and forth to no longer be offside) remain immobile. and, at the same time, the kicker takes great care not to advance five meters to put them back into play.

World Rugby will also ask unions to implement a series of trials in their national competitions to limit the time required to complete scrums and throw-ins, similar to what exists with the clock for penalties and throw-ins. transformations. They will also test a law stating that the ball must be played after a maul has been stopped once, not twice as is currently the case. As well as the possibility of scoring the ball inside the 22 meter line from a return, which favors the options in attack.