World Rugby has announced a series of law applications which will be implemented game-wide from 1 January 2023.
The guidelines, which are designed to assist match officials, players and coaches and to enhance fan experience are part of a drive by the international federation to speed up the game and reflect key outcomes of the Shape of the Game Conference in November.
With Rugby World Cup 2023 fast-approaching, the new directives are designed to support a quicker, more entertaining game while balancing safety and spectacle.
The ‘Shape of the Game’ conference was held in London in November and was attended by players, coaches, referees and representatives of World Rugby, Six Nations and Rugby Championship as well as from Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, USA and Wales.
From 1 January 2023, the following will apply:
#1. Less TMO
Television match official intervention will be reduced in time for the men’s Six Nations as World Rugby bids to speed up the game. Referees will also be encouraged to allow fewer big-screen replays.
Match officials are reminded that the current TMO protocol is aimed at identifying and ensuring clear and obvious offences are dealt with on-field.
Davies added: “There was excellent debate at the Shape of the Game conference on this topic, including leading match officials, coaches and player representatives. It was agreed that reviews can often take too long, suggesting the offence being reviewed is not clear and obvious. While we can always enhance the technology interaction to speed up the process, the match official teams – led by the referee – should attempt to make speedier decisions and limit replays where not necessary.”
World Rugby will be working with match official managers to ensure consistent application of the process.
