Refs approach the ELVs
There is an extra frisson of interest as the Super 14 draws nearer as there are new laws to consider with the curtailed use of Experimental Law Variations.
These experiments – and they are still experiments and will not become law till the International Rugby Board meets in November and has its say – have been going on for three years and have been tested around the world. With Super 14 they get onto the big stage.
Change the laws and you change the game. These are the biggest changes for 40 years or more, and the referee is the Johnny in the middle that has to see fair play and get it right. On this big stage there is an extra onus on the seven referees who kick off the 2008 Super 14.
The referees in question are Mark Lawrence (South Africa), Marius Jonker (South Africa), Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand), Lyndon Bray (South Africa), Craig Joubert (South Africa), Willie Roos (South Africa) and Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa).
The curtailed ELVs are more a referee’s concern than a players’ concern. There are still no hands in a ruck, a maul may still not be pulled down and numbers till apply in the line-out. For players the big differences are being five metres back from line-outs, kicking out of the 22 and having an off-side line at a tackle.
For the rest it is for the referee to know what to give – free kick or penalty, free kick or scrum. The habit of his arm may waver a bit between straight and bent! Iain Heard of Scotland refereed the ELVs in the Scottish Cup. An injured player said to him that he thought he had had difficulty in remembering whether it was a free kick or a penalty, saying he was “a bit like John Travolta in the disco scene from Saturday Night Fever”!
All the Super 14 referees have been to courses and discussions and they will have studied the written word but acting in the heat of battle is another matter when habit tends to take over.
We asked some of the referees what their experience of the ELVs was, how the players and coaches reacted, what effect there was on the game and how confidently they were going into their matches.
Inevitably their experience has been limited as there have been only a few warm-up matches for the Super 14 for them to get into a comfortable groove. Apart from limited experience this month there has actually been contrary experience to entrench the “old laws” for Joubert and Kaplan. Joubert refereed the old laws at Twickenham at the beginning of the month, then Super 14 laws in a warm-up match. Kaplan refereed in Dublin and was then the touch judge in Cardiff. He has had no warm-up match to help him, but bundles of experience. Lawrence, who referees the opening match, may just have the best lead-in of the lot.
Deaker of Hawke’s Bay, who is in Durban, says: “Prior to coming over I refereed two warm-up games in New Zealand (Chiefs vs Hurricanes and Hurricanes vs Brumbies).
Lawrence, who is in Christchurch, says: “I have refereed two and half Super 14 matches and one game with full South African ELVs.”
Joubert, who is in Sydney, says: “My experience with the new ELVs has been restricted to just one warm-up match between the Sharks and the Lions. This is mainly due to the fact that I refereed a Six Nations Test Match at Twickenham on February 2 under the “old laws”. Obviously it would have been counter productive to have refereed any games under the new ELVs prior to this test match and so I was fortunate that the Sharks hosted the Lions in the last of the warm-up games just 48 hours after I had landed back in South Africa from London.
“Some aspects of the game have required a bit of referee adjustment. For example we are still refereeing the breakdown the same way but have to be conscious that a number of previously penalty-kick offences are now free-kick offences and that obviously requires some adjustment. Where the laws pertaining to the scrum have not changed, the back-lines now have a 5m off-side line. This effects the refereeing of the loose forwards, who now have an even greater role to play on defence, and ensuring that they remain bound until the ball emerges from the scrum as weak refereeing of this aspect takes away the space the new ELVs are specifically trying to create. Probably the greatest area of referee adjustment comes with the newly created offside line at a tackle. Previously offside lines were only created when the tackle became a ruck or maul, and this is a dynamic aspect of the game which requires quick decision making and identification.”
There have been more matches north of the Vaal, but Roos had a bit of flu.
All of the referees we spoke to have a positive attitude to the ELVs.
Deaker: “The ELVs are an exciting development for Super 14 and so far everyone is entering the trial with a positive frame of mind.”
Lawrence: “It was a bit confusing at first. This was exacerbated by late changes to some ELVs up to the last minute. Things like which team kicks-off after a score and turn-over free kicks when an unplayable occurs at tackle/ruck/maul took time to get used to! Also having to referee different laws for different competitions makes me a bit tentative as I have to think about what law to apply rather than having trained instinct kick in. Generally though things seem positive.
Joubert: “The ELVs have not created a mountain of new laws for the players to understand, although certainly there are aspects to the game that require adjustment from them (specifically the backlines at scrum time, the off-side lines at tackles and the law pertaining to taking the ball back into the 22m area). The breakdown, however, has largely remained as it was for the players with the major changes being the sanctions for indiscretions which is the referee’s issue to deal with.
Roos: “I love the ELVs. They makes the game so much faster.”
Speed is clearly seen as the big change.
Deaker: “The game has been faster in the main with the ball clearing the tackle/ruck quicker, although these were trial matches and analysis is yet to take place in a more competitive environment.
“There will be a period of adjustment in the opening weeks for referees, players, coaches and the fans so that is something for everyone to be aware of.”
Lawrence: “The coaches especially here in NZ feel positive but say it will take a few games before the real picture emerges. They want to feel it out first before being really committal. The players have reported that the game is really faster now but will settle as players adapt and get a balance of pace and structure.
“Only time will tell what effect the changes have had on the game. Discipline will be a key issue .. as players tire so does their concentration. when the mind goes players infringe more and tempers flare.
“In three and a half games I have had 11 yellow cards and 3 reds! I don’t think that is good for the game but players will adapt over time. It is still early days.”
Joubert: “My experiences with players and coaches has been really positive with the players embracing the ability to speed the game up through quick taps when required, or being able to control the pace of the game by choosing scrums when appropriate.
“The game of rugby is still the same product that everyone has become used to, with some positive advancements. The extra space created by the 5m offside line at the scrum and the ability to take a quick line-out without fear of having to throw the ball in straight as an arrow has allowed the players to express themselves with ball in hand and have a crack at porous defences. Whereas previously, the multiple penalties generally awarded at the breakdown make for a disjointed game due to the subsequent kick for touch and line-out or kick at goal, the new ELVs have replaced many of these penalties with free kicks thereby encouraging the players to speed the game up if they so wish through quick tap kicks. Most positively for everyone involved in the game is that the new ELVs should create an environment where player skills are dictating the outcomes of games and not arguably debatable referee decisions at the breakdown which invariably resulted in three points and possibly effected the outcomes of games.”
Roos, too, does not see a great change: “It is not such a big mindset as the people think it will be But the game is very much faster and players and referees will have to be fitter in future.”
Confident?
Deaker: “Having had two reasonably competitive warm-up games already I am looking forward to the actual contest beginning. A lot will depend on player attitude towards the new laws and therefore responding to the quickness of action that will be required around the contact area if they do not the referee will be in play more.”
Lawrence: “Confidence is key to refereeing and I am apprehensive but positive. I don’t have the luxury of feeling out the laws like the coaches and players. I have to get it right first time, but that is always a referees lot. I am looking forward to the NEW game!”
Joubert: “I was pleased with the adjustment I made in the 80 minutes I have refereed these new ELVs and found the implementation comfortable. The proof is in the pudding though and the ABSA stadium in Durban on a Wed night friendly in front of 7000 people is a long way from a highly charged Aussie Stadium in Sydney on a Sat night in front of a full house of 40,000 with the Super 14 up for grabs. Mental preparation and cool heads are going to be key ingredients in the implementation of these ELVs in the heat of the kitchen.”
Roos: “I’m very confident and cannot wait to get onto the field.”
