General Rugby Discussion 3

Ws going to say that the middle section has 'good record' which is significant, but only in the sense that a bad record should mitigate against and that's in column 3.

MLR downgrading the scrum. This is the inevitable outcomes of the WR empowering MLR at the expense of the US Union. The pro game in the US is becoming rugby league.

https://www.planetrugby.com/news/major-league-rugby-set-for-strange-rule-changes-which-is-a-great-way-to-kill-the-sport-in-the-usa

– A knock-on or throw into touch will now result in a lineout only, removing the scrum option to keep the game moving.

– When the ball is knocked on or thrown into the in-goal area and grounded by either team, the result will be a goal-line dropout, eliminating the scrum as a restart option.

– If a team fails to play the ball within five seconds of the referee’s “use it” call, the sanction will now be a free kick instead of a scrum.

– If a maul ends unsuccessfully, the restart will now be a free kick rather than a scrum.

rumour that it’s coming fro World Rugby, though it’s from barstool sports so as likely to be horseshit as based on something real. Seems an insane love that will destroy union in the US.

No. Rugby union is far far more popular than rugby league in the US.

But not anywhere else. Would be tail wagging the dog.

Merging with league would be great for the sport, if it didn't require too many compromises. But it probably would.

Moving to 13 players and trying to make the game a little bit faster to bridge some of the gap would both be obvious wins for Union though - a big reduction in wages for professional clubs, more players to spread around teams for amateur clubs that are struggling with numbers, and a faster game for spectators.

More cardio to cover the open spaces would mean smaller players too with positives for player welfare.

Im a big enough rugby fan but will be honest and say scrums aren't all that interesting to me. It's got better recently but the less scrums in games the better.

So I don't think the rules are all that bad. Only one I don't like is

When the ball is knocked on or thrown into the in-goal area and grounded by either team, the result will be a goal-line dropout, eliminating the scrum as a restart option.

That just allows teams to play back into their try zone and touch the ball down. It's too easy an out

There are plenty of league viewers in the UK too. These 2024 attendance figures are comparable to the Premiership or URC UK teams.

Bringing those fans (and their money) on-board would do wonders for the game, especially in Australia where its dying.

But even money and fans aside, reducing union to 13 players isn't exactly turning the game into League. Theres no real negative to it, but plenty of postives - reduce wage bills for professional clubs by approx 15% overnight, spread more players around amateur teams, a faster / more exciting game, smaller players to cover the more field space so reduced contact injuries etc.

There's absolutely no chance of it happening (the sports merging).

Rugby union is far more popular worldwide than rugby league so if it was hypothetically going to swing any direction it would be rugby league moving towards rugby union. Then you're losing hoards of money out of the 'combined' sport by virtue of a rake of teams no longer existing and losing a rake of broadcasting deals, sponsorships etc. And that's before you go near governance, unions, existing agreements etc.

I get the desire to make moves to make the sport exciting but looking to a fundamentally less successful sport (globally) and thinking "lets be like them" is a complete non-runner.

Where's that new version coming from? The US? That won't spread anywhere else, stupid rule.

It mentions throwing the ball over the line. My original post didn't mention carrying it back.

Currently defending a line out of the 5 you pass back to your 10 and he clears under pressure. With the change you can pass back to your 10. He touches down and has a pressure free clearance.

I always thought a defending team passing back into the in goal area and grounding it was a 5 metre scrum.

You're probably right. As I said, head melted. Carrying it back though is still a scrum. Or at least it was last weekend.

obviously trying it in the US because audiences are small and insignificant in the larger rugby world. It’s likely an R&D excercise to experiment with the rules to minimise scrums. It does feel like it’s headed to RL territory but let’s face it, doing that would haemorrhage supporters because union fans don’t like rugby league. But be it’s a dangerous trend that assumes downsizing forward play will attract more fans by speeding up the game. Kind of ironic that it’s trialing in the US where AL is religion, a game that takes 4 hours for less than 20 minutes of play.