Ex-England back Austin Healey has hit out at one of World Rugby’s global law trials that will be in place during the next round of the Investec Champions Cup.
Round three of the EPCR tournaments will see four trials come into play including the loosening of regulations around skew lineout throws, a change in the timings for conversion kicks and the speeding up of the set-pieces.
Notably, there will also be more protection for scrum-halves around the pitch specifically at the set-pieces, breakdown and mauls.
Healey fumes over law change
This is the change that has irked Healey, who famously played across the backline during his career featuring for club and country notably at scrum-half.
He believes that the added protection for number nines is likely to result in the kind of scrum-halves that will be favoured by coaches, bringing a new breed of players.
“A law that will change after this round of the Premiership is the scrum-half can no longer now go past the halfway point of the scrum – to the defensive side,” Healey said on TNT Sport’s coverage of Leicester Tigers‘ Premiership clash against Exeter Chiefs at Welford Road.
“Which I think does the actual art of being a nine a real disservice, if it’s easy now to just put the ball in and get the ball away from the base – I know it starts the game again – but now it might breed a different type of nine, just an athlete, someone who hasn’t got those inherent skills at the case and just go there.
“I think it’s a terrible law change.”
Bigger players with a worse pass
World Rugby have explained that the rationale behind the changes are to “protect the 9 to enable more ball in flow from base of ruck, maul and scrum.”
The law amendment that Healey refers to is Law 19.30a, which now reads: “Once play in the scrum begins, the scrum-half of the team not in possession: a. Takes up a position near the scrum, no further than the centre line of the tunnel.”
Previously, it read: “Once play in the scrum begins, the scrum-half of the team not in possession: a. Takes up a position near the scrum, with both feet behind the ball and close to the scrum but not in the space between the flanker and the number eight.”
Lead TNT commentator Nick Mullins added: “You wonder where the little annoying scrum-halves are going to go… You wonder where that’s going if that’s taken out of the armoury.”
With Healey, replying: “If you know it’s easy to get the ball away, you can put somebody there who’s much bigger with the worst pass.”
The former England back weighed in again on the law change when Exeter had a scrum near the Tigers’ five-metre line.
“How easy is it for an attacking side in that scenario where they get a left-hand wheel on the scrum, you just pick and go and score,” he added.
“It’s virtually impossible to stop that. If I’m a nine and we are five metres out and my opposite number isn’t in my face, he is two metres back, there is no way in the world he is going to stop me from scoring a try.
“I know as a law change they go through various trials to get to these points but I don’t think there is more benefit than negativity from bringing it in.”
