Rugby’s flaws stem from its sheer complexity
, rugby union can produce breathtaking moments of athleticism and skill. Watch, for example, a try scored by France against England from behind their own goal-line in 1991 , as the hands and boots of Serge Blanco, Philippe Sella, Didier Camberabero, Philippe Saint-André and more, conjure the ball from one end of the field to the other. Or savour the legendary try by the Barbarians against New Zealand in 1973 .
. Football is a simple game with only one convoluted rule—the offside law. Rugby seems to have a thousand, which change from season to season. Referees have a lot of latitude to award penalties and it is often very hard for spectators to understand the nature of an offence. All too often, scrums collapse and have to be reset, or lead to a penalty for one side or the other. Players can be penalised for not binding properly, for not pushing in a straight line or for not maintaining their crouching position. It often appears that both teams are breaking the rules in some respect and a referee’s decisions to award a penalty can thus seem arbitrary. Eddie Jones, England’s coach, has called for there to be fewer scrums and more “free kicks”, as a way of opening up play.
Two recent rule changes have encouraged more kicking. Under the 50-22 rule, if a team kicks the ball from its own half and it goes out of touch within 22 metres of the opponents’ goal-line, the kicking team now gets the subsequent throw-in—an excellent attacking opportunity. In another change, if the ball is kicked into the area behind the goal line and grounded by the defending team, they must kick the ball from the goal-line and not, as in previous years, from the 22-metre line.
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