Springboks: Rassie Erasmus reveals the law change that will be the most ‘difficult’ to adapt to
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has commented on the law changes and variations that will be in place for the Rugby Championship and revealed which one he believes will be the most difficult.
SANZAAR revealed the four law variations that will be in place for the Rugby Championship which includes the 20-minute red card, a countdown clock for the set-pieces and skew lineout throws.
There will also be further protection for scrum-halves, or players performing that role, at the back of scrums, mauls and breakdowns with all the variations largely aimed at improving the spectacle.
However, none of the new variations that will be effective from SANZAAR’s point of view are what most concerns Erasmus but an existing law that World Rugby said in March should be reinforced this year.
Use it law
Erasmus believes that if referees officiate the ‘use it’ call properly during the Rugby Championship that it will be the most difficult to adapt and not just for the Springboks.
“The most interesting one which I think will be, not foreign, but difficult not just for us but everybody is the box kick,” the Bok boss said.
“When the referee says ‘use it’ and it must be done within five seconds when the ball is available, I think that will definitely change a lot of things in the game.”
The law that Erasmus is referring to is law 15.17 which states: “When the ball has been clearly won by a team at the ruck, and is available to be played, the referee calls “use it”, after which the ball must be played away from the ruck within five seconds.
If the player fails to do so, then the opposition team will be awarded a scrum.
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The Springboks were penalised on one occasion for this law during the mid-year internationals when Morne van den Berg was deemed to have taken longer than five seconds during the clash against Portugal.
As stated above, the law is not a new one but is instead an existing law that needed to be reinforced to players, coaches and match officials following the Shape of the Game meeting in February.
“If the referees are going to call ‘use it’ when it’s available and they are really going to stick on the 3, 4, 5 seconds – it will be difficult,” Erasmus added.
“It is something that we have really worked hard at getting right and the other stuff like kicking within 60 seconds and forming a lineout and scrum quickly, and the crocodile roll – there was not a lot there for us to adjust to.
“So it will be interesting in general play if there is a team exiting or forming box kicks, how the nines handle the pressure and how the referees handle it but apart from that, I think we are all good.”
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Adapting the quickest
The Bok coach also found the skew throw from a hooker at the lineout being overlooked if the opposition does not contest as “interesting” as it will lead to fewer scrums in the game.
“What we just have to do is be the first team that adapts the best and we’ve been working really hard with Jaco Peyper and we’ve known about the law changes and we are on top of it and it’s the same for everybody.”