The ELVs and The Super 14
February 27th 2008 22:00
No, this isn't Tolkien's unknown 7th book...but Legolas would make a kickass flyhalf... 
Okay, I haven't mentioned much...nay...nothing about the the ELVs (Experimental Law Variations) other than to write a post about it ages ago when it was first introduced for the now defunct and always doomed, Australian Rugby Championships.
The ELVs are being trialled in the Super 14 and according to the Australian Rugby Union
I don't really understand the new rules. Well of course I do but I don't understand the reasons as to why they're needed. There's nothing wrong with Rugby the way it is. Well...one thing...but I suppose he had to retire one day...
The primary aim of the ELVs is to keep the ball in play longer, with fewer stoppages and more running Rugby, thereby creating
The ELVs supposedly make the game simpler to understand, for players and spectators alike.
Hmmm. Looks to me the primary aim is to make Rugby secondary to League... in the simplifying not the faster and exciting... Sorry League fans
...but I'm not the only one to think so... (post to follow).
Basically the International Rugby Board sees the ELVs as a way to revive the Game after the IRB Chairman, Bernard Lapasset "conceded" that the Rugby played in last year's RWC wasn't up to "a high level".
For the second tournament in succession the final featured no tries. Lapasset said some Pool matches had been entertaining but...
Super 14 is the control experiment for the Experimental Law Variations and although the laws are being used at a low level in France, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, there are concerns they will not be "embraced" by the northern hemisphere.
It will be the detailed analysis of the Super 14 that influences the IRB when it meets in November. Then the decision will be made whether (or not) to trial the laws at all levels of the game globally next year...with the decision to make the laws permanent made at the end of 2009.
So far, the reviews for this supposedly "quicker and more exciting way" are mixed.
If this was a movie, the critics would love it, the actors would hate it, the limelighters would love it and it would fail at the box office then do really well on DVD.
The following ELVs have been applied in the 2008 Super 14: (8 in total)
Posts and flags around the field
1. Corner posts will be positioned at the outside junction of the goal line (try line) and the touch line.
What this means:
No freakin' idea.
Kidding.
a). If a player is in possession of the ball and touches a corner post he will not be in touch unless he touches the touchline or the ground beyond the touchline. (so players head can be bashed up against the corner post but he can't pass out, fall and touch the line)
b) If the ball is not being carried by a player and it touches the corner post the ball will not be deemed to be touch in goal (so fingers crossed for a lucky bounce)
(click image for large view)
Inside the 22 metre line
2. When a defending player receives the ball outside the 22 metre line and passes, puts or takes the ball back inside the 22, the following can occur;
a) If the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is in line with where the ball was kicked (instead of where it landed)
b. If a tackle, ruck or maul is subsequently formed and the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is where the ball crossed the touch line.
3. Lineout
On a quick throw in, the ball can be thrown straight or backwards towards the defenders goal line, but not forward towards the opposition goal line.
What this means:
I'm not sure seeing as I thought this rule was always the rule.
Breakdown (tackle/post tackle)
4. Players entering the breakdown area must do so through the gate.
What this means:
The breakdown is the precious moments immediately after a tackle and before the ruck is formed.
The gate refers to the 'opening' in the back-middle of the ruck formed by players draped over the ball.
The ruck is formed after a player has been tackled and then released and then gets jumped on by any combination of 3 players from both teams who bind together over the ball and push over to try and gain possession.
Yep. It's kindy-style Stacks On!
5. Immediately the tackle occurs there are offside lines.
What this means:
Depending on the team. If it's an Australian team...they're not offside, they're just eager.
Offside is an imaginary line that players must stay behind. In the tackle case, all players must stay behind the line 'created' by their tackled team mate.
6. The half back should not be touched unless he has his hands on the ball.
What this means:
No gratuitous inflicting of pain. Also goes for the flyhalf.
Scrum
7.The offside line, for players who are not in the scrum and who are not the teams scrum half, is 5 metres behind the hindmost foot of the scrum.
What this means:
No jumping the gun for players who are not involved in the scrum. Stay Back (literally) until the ball gets to you.
Sanctions
8. For all offences other than offside, not entering through the gate and Foul Play, the sanction is a Free Kick.
What this means:
The player got caught. The opposition got lucky.
I only have other thing to say. If the IRB really wanted to make Rugby "...a more free-flowing, faster and exciting style of play"..they'd take the whistles off the Refs.
********************
Laws courtesy of ARU
Please send me a Message if you would like to discuss/debate the ELVs and I will open the Comments Section.
However, I cannot guarantee a quick response as I am currently in Middle Earth and broadband connection here is terrible...
Thank you for clicking this;
The ELVs are being trialled in the Super 14 and according to the Australian Rugby Union
Spectators and fans will witness a quicker and more exciting brand of rugby in 2008, following a decision by the South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby Unions (SANZAR) to adopt a range of the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) for the 2008 Super 14 competition.
I don't really understand the new rules. Well of course I do but I don't understand the reasons as to why they're needed. There's nothing wrong with Rugby the way it is. Well...one thing...but I suppose he had to retire one day...
The primary aim of the ELVs is to keep the ball in play longer, with fewer stoppages and more running Rugby, thereby creating
...a more free-flowing, faster and exciting style of play.
The ELVs supposedly make the game simpler to understand, for players and spectators alike.
Hmmm. Looks to me the primary aim is to make Rugby secondary to League... in the simplifying not the faster and exciting... Sorry League fans
...but I'm not the only one to think so... (post to follow).
Basically the International Rugby Board sees the ELVs as a way to revive the Game after the IRB Chairman, Bernard Lapasset "conceded" that the Rugby played in last year's RWC wasn't up to "a high level".
For the second tournament in succession the final featured no tries. Lapasset said some Pool matches had been entertaining but...
...more tries were needed in the playoff matches to ensure the tournament remained an entertaining spectacle.
Super 14 is the control experiment for the Experimental Law Variations and although the laws are being used at a low level in France, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, there are concerns they will not be "embraced" by the northern hemisphere.
It will be the detailed analysis of the Super 14 that influences the IRB when it meets in November. Then the decision will be made whether (or not) to trial the laws at all levels of the game globally next year...with the decision to make the laws permanent made at the end of 2009.
So far, the reviews for this supposedly "quicker and more exciting way" are mixed.
If this was a movie, the critics would love it, the actors would hate it, the limelighters would love it and it would fail at the box office then do really well on DVD.
The following ELVs have been applied in the 2008 Super 14: (8 in total)
Posts and flags around the field
1. Corner posts will be positioned at the outside junction of the goal line (try line) and the touch line.
What this means:
No freakin' idea.
Kidding.
a). If a player is in possession of the ball and touches a corner post he will not be in touch unless he touches the touchline or the ground beyond the touchline. (so players head can be bashed up against the corner post but he can't pass out, fall and touch the line)
b) If the ball is not being carried by a player and it touches the corner post the ball will not be deemed to be touch in goal (so fingers crossed for a lucky bounce)
(click image for large view)
Inside the 22 metre line
2. When a defending player receives the ball outside the 22 metre line and passes, puts or takes the ball back inside the 22, the following can occur;
a) If the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is in line with where the ball was kicked (instead of where it landed)
b. If a tackle, ruck or maul is subsequently formed and the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is where the ball crossed the touch line.
3. Lineout
On a quick throw in, the ball can be thrown straight or backwards towards the defenders goal line, but not forward towards the opposition goal line.
What this means:
I'm not sure seeing as I thought this rule was always the rule.
Breakdown (tackle/post tackle)
4. Players entering the breakdown area must do so through the gate.
What this means:
The breakdown is the precious moments immediately after a tackle and before the ruck is formed.
The gate refers to the 'opening' in the back-middle of the ruck formed by players draped over the ball.
The ruck is formed after a player has been tackled and then released and then gets jumped on by any combination of 3 players from both teams who bind together over the ball and push over to try and gain possession.
Yep. It's kindy-style Stacks On!
5. Immediately the tackle occurs there are offside lines.
What this means:
Depending on the team. If it's an Australian team...they're not offside, they're just eager.
Offside is an imaginary line that players must stay behind. In the tackle case, all players must stay behind the line 'created' by their tackled team mate.
6. The half back should not be touched unless he has his hands on the ball.
What this means:
No gratuitous inflicting of pain. Also goes for the flyhalf.
Scrum
7.The offside line, for players who are not in the scrum and who are not the teams scrum half, is 5 metres behind the hindmost foot of the scrum.
What this means:
No jumping the gun for players who are not involved in the scrum. Stay Back (literally) until the ball gets to you.
Sanctions
8. For all offences other than offside, not entering through the gate and Foul Play, the sanction is a Free Kick.
What this means:
The player got caught. The opposition got lucky.
I only have other thing to say. If the IRB really wanted to make Rugby "...a more free-flowing, faster and exciting style of play"..they'd take the whistles off the Refs.
********************
Laws courtesy of ARU
Please send me a Message if you would like to discuss/debate the ELVs and I will open the Comments Section.
However, I cannot guarantee a quick response as I am currently in Middle Earth and broadband connection here is terrible...
Thank you for clicking this;
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