Law change welcomed far and wide

2020-05-20

Emirates Lions defence coach Sean Erasmus has welcomed the recent law change, announced by World Rugby that it will no longer be possible to score a try by grounding the ball against the post protector.

Erasmus said he thought World Rugby made a good change to this law. “It’s extremely hard to defend your post protector as it is usually partially in front of the line. When teams then pick and go close to the line, you have to be in an offside position to try and prevent them from scoring a try.

“Attacking teams know this and would at times work towards the poles to benefit from this opportunity. Another option that have often been mentioned would be to have American Football type poles brought into rugby union. There is only one pole in the ground and it is behind the scoring line. This new law amendment will serve defence on your own try line well,” Erasmus commented.

The amendment to Law 8, which will be implemented with immediate effect, was approved by the World Rugby Council during its special meeting held via teleconference and follows a recommendation by the international federation’s rugby committee and specialist laws review group.

The amended law will now read, “The post protector is no longer an extension of the goal-line and therefore Law 8.2 (a) will read: A try is scored when the attacking player is first to ground the ball in the opponents’ in-goal.”

Some Lions players we contacted regarding this law change concurred with their coach on this issue.

Pieter Jansen, hooker of the Emirates Lions, said,” I welcome the rule change as it is almost impossible to defend it. I understand it goes both ways but I for one think in the long run it will be much more beneficial to teams.”

Lock Marvin Orie felt the entertainment factor will also increase due to the law change. “I think this change in the law book is a positive one. When defending, being that close to your goal line, you couldn’t do much to prevent a try from being scored against the post protector. This change will now force the attacking player/team to opt for other options when in that scenario again. This will add to the entertainment factor of the game which is good for everyone.”

Burly frontranker Carlu Sadie remembers when a situation where a player was punished for lifting the post protector to defend a try. “In the past Pierre Schoeman was punished for lifting the post protector in a desperate attempt to defend a try. I have been in this situation in the past where the attacking player can make use of this loophole. By World Rugby bringing in the new rule, it levels the playground. The defending team now gets a fair opportunity to do what is expected from them,” Sadie explained.

Retired Lions prop Jacobie Adriaanse agreed with his former team mates on this issue. “I feel it’s an improvement. Some post protectors is so big, it’s almost impossible to defend on your own try line without being offside.”

World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said: “World Rugby’s mission is to make the game as simple, safe and enjoyable to play as possible. This law amendment reflects that mission.

“By stipulating that an attacking team can no longer score against the post protector and therefore must ground the ball in-goal, this gives defending teams a fair chance of preventing a try from being scored.”

Author: Annemie Bester