WORLD RUGBY HAS tweaked the laws of the game to ensure that it’s no longer possible to score a try by grounding the ball against the post protectors.
The law change has been made with immediate effect.
Up until now, players could score a try by grounding the ball against the base of the protectors attached to goal posts.
It had long been a frustration for defending players and their coaches, given how difficult it was to prevent this kind of try being scored from close-range rucks.
With the size of post protectors having increased in recent years for player safety reasons, it had been difficult for teams to legally defend in this area of the pitch.
Last November, Edinburgh went to the extreme lengths of lifting the post protectors in a bid to prevent Munster scoring from close-range rucks.
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“In my view you can’t touch the goal posts,” said Munster boss Johann van Graan after that game. “It is the safety of the game, you pull that up. There’s been another incident in world rugby, that was a yellow and straight penalty try.
“We have got to keep with the values on the game. I’m not going to comment further on it but safety is paramount. If somebody hits the goalposts there and something happens to them… really frustrating.”
World Rugby has now decided to ensure tries can no longer be scored against the base of the post protectors, meaning such situations will be avoided.
The new Law 8.2 (a) will remove any reference to the post or its surrounding padding and read: “A try is scored when the attacking player a) is first to ground the ball in the opponents’ in-goal.”
World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, who was recently re-elected for another four-year term 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.”
The amendment to Law 8 was approved by the World Rugby Council during a teleconference meeting and following a recommendation by the body’s specialist Laws Review Group.
