Hugh Farrelly : Beware of IRB's textual harassment
IT is fairly safe to assume that not too many female eyes stray to this part of the paper. There are a variety of reasons for this (not least the oestrogen-repelling, Gok Wan-esque leering face at the top of the page) but, if you do happen to belong to the fairer sex, then perhaps you are familiar with the concept of the '3.0am text' -- you may even have received your share of them.
These early-morning missives generally revolve around the theme of: "You up? Need to call over for a chat..." but, while they purport to be a plea for meaningful conversation, the reality is quite different.
The 3.0am text is the technological equivalent of a desire that, in the old days, used to be reflected through the medium of lobbing pebbles at your target's bedroom window.
And, in keeping with this general theme, we have the text the IRB sent out a week ago under the headline: "World's Top Coaches Buy In To Global Application Of Law".
This low-key offering referred to a gathering in London involving various IRB representatives and senior coaches from all the major rugby playing nations including the head men of all the Six Nations teams.
consistency
They met to "discuss all aspects of refereeing practice and global playing trends" and we were told how "the coaches all fully supported the IRB's commitment to penalising the clear and obvious and all reiterated the need for consistency in ensuring strict application of the law in five key areas of the game: (a) offside at the breakdown; (b) offside from kicks; (c) illegal maul formation causing obstruction; (d) clear and obvious infringements at the scrum, including slowing down of the scrum engagement sequence, front-row binding and scrum feeds; (e) the tackle law.
While it is undoubtedly true that every coach supports consistent refereeing and were present to get a grasp on what they can expect during the summer tours, it is less certain that there is unanimous support for what these interpretations represent.
Remember the ELVs? A dastardly concoction of rule changes based around a proliferation of free kicks in an attempt to speed up the game and reduce the influence of traditional, less TV-friendly, rugby practices such as the maul. The most heinous ELVs were, thankfully, rejected but, as the IRB text demonstrates, there are still obvious attempts to push rugby union towards the rugby-league style dross of the Super 14 in an attempt to make the game more 'appealing'.
The first two areas of strict application of the offside rule from kicks and from the breakdown are fine -- a commendable attempt to provide more room for attacking rugby -- it is the other three that worry.
compelling
The ELV that allowed the maul to be brought down at source destroyed one of the most compelling cornerstones of the game, one that sucks in defenders to free up space elsewhere. That was done away with so now we are zoning in on "illegal maul formation". Strict application means we can expect mauls to be blown up with impunity this summer just as they are starting to rumble.
As regards the scrum, if the feed is properly policed and we see a return to proper striking and increased contest, there will be no arguments here. However, given that many referees are at a loss when it comes to what is really going on, "clear and obvious" scrum infringements are anything but.
It creates the likelihood of scrums being blown up as soon as they threaten to delay the action, leading to a free-kick, tap-and-go frenzy which could well hamstring the side with the dominant scrum.
And finally, there is the tackle law. The parachuting of the tackle interpretation into the Six Nations caused consternation and it is no wonder the coaches are trying to get a handle on what happens next.
In the Super 14, the tackle breakdown has veered ever closer to the rugby league-style under-the-legs, post-tackle recycling as defenders refuse to commit for fear of infringement. Northern hemisphere officials have been more practical, allowing a greater contest for possession post-tackle but that will not be the case this summer.
It all seems a tad Machievellian -- the ELVs didn't take so lets see if we can crack down on areas of the game we think are slowing it down.
The IRB's text was all about 'the chat' but the reality is rugby union getting screwed.
- Hugh Farrelly
Irish Independent
