Photo: Pixabay

What is the new 20 50 rule in rugby?

How does the 50:22 rule work? If a player kicks the ball from his own half and it bounces before going out of play in the opposition 22, his team is given the throw into the resulting line-out, in a prime attacking position.

inews.co.uk - What is the 50-22 kick rule in rugby? The new law explained and why it ...

What are 3 items that are not taxable?

Certain investments can provide tax-free income, including interest on municipal bonds and the income realized on contributions to Roth retirement...

Last updated Jan 14, 2020

Can police remotely access my phone?

Cloud Data. There are many backups of data on your phone. Anything saved outside of your device can be accessed by law enforcement if they follow...

Last updated Oct 17, 2019

Make Your Bookie Cry And Pull The Hair By Generating $23,187

Promotion

Sport Analysis

A batch of law trials could shake things up in the new Gallagher Premiership season – including the “50:22” kick. The new rule is adapted from rugby league’s 40:20, and was pushed by the much-travelled Australian coach Scott Johnson at a World Rugby laws conference in 2019.

How does the 50:22 rule work?

If a player kicks the ball from his own half and it bounces before going out of play in the opposition 22, his team is given the throw into the resulting line-out, in a prime attacking position. The idea is to create space because the defending team will keep an extra one or two players in the backfield, taking them out of the defensive line that is often strung across the field. The other hoped-for benefit is that it will reduce the number of big collisions and therefore reduce injury and damaging contact to the head.

Pros of the new law

Speaking to i back in 2019 when the 50:22 kick was first seriously mooted, former England fly-half Toby Flood was hopeful it would lead to more attacking play but also had some reservations. “When you face a strung-out defensive line, and you don’t have the numbers, you know you can’t go anywhere,” Flood explained. “You either kick back or try and find the chink in their armour, and sometimes it’s not pretty… “I guess it might turn 14-man lines into 13-man ones, or 13 into 12. If you take Saracens, who have the best defensive set-up around, they will have two men in the backfield for the majority of the time, plus the scrum-half who dips in and out of the defensive line. “Or they might have just one back, but the open-side wing will be alert to any kick from our nine or 10. A team with two players back will be desperate to preserve those two for as long as possible, until one of them engages when they’re under stress from the attack, maybe 30 to 40 metres out from their own try-line. I can see those backfield players would sit deeper, because they wouldn’t want to be beaten by the 50-22 kick. “The time it becomes really viable is on turnover ball – and it will be interesting to see whether the law says it must be kicked from your own possession. Undoubtedly on a turnover the nine will whack it down there as best he can, and if the ball squirts out of play, it is a huge gain. That would be painful; you’d end up miles back.”

Cons of the new law

What are the 7 steps of forecasting?

These seven steps can generate forecasts. Determine what the forecast is for. Select the items for the forecast. Select the time horizon....

Last updated Mar 31, 2019

Are slot machines random or programmed?

Easily, as it turns out: the slot machines' algorithm is programmed to work randomly. That means, it's programmed to show 'a' set of symbols across...

Last updated Jun 9, 2022

Promotion

While it is hoped the law will lead to more exciting play, it might not work out that way in reality. Here’s Flood again: “It might take away those moments of brilliance on counter-attack – the two-pass turnover might be lost to a back just whacking it in hope. And I was chatting to some of my teammates who’ve played league, and they say the kick isn’t easy.” The 40-20 rule in league generates excitement when the crowd sees the kick unleashed, and watch the defender scurrying madly to prevent the ball going out.

But Flood added: “Is that more attractive to the viewer, or is it 1970s rugby stuff – whack the ball and go after it?

“Hypothetically, will a team like Exeter, who play a lot, now play less around their opponents’ 30 or 40-metre point, taking fewer risks, because they are worried about a kick going back behind them?

“There could be more ball in play, and fewer tackles, but less attractive play. “I totally understand what they [the lawmakers] are trying to do, but I don’t know how much you can fight the evolution of the sport. People are bigger, faster and stronger than they were.”

Other changes to look out for in 2021-22

You need to be even more alert for the new goal-line drop-out. A team held up when driving over the line no longer has a put-in to a five-metre scrum; instead the defending team drops the ball out from their goalline. It is aimed at reducing the number of scrums, rewarding good defence, encouraging counter-attack and increasing the rate of ball in play. The increased action in the in-goal area could be fascinating, and as it can vary from six to 22 metres in length, look out for clubs redrawing the lines or regretting their tiny pitch! Other measures are aimed jointly at greater safety and fairness in defence. “Latching” onto a ball-carrying team-mate is still permitted, but the player in question has the same responsibilities as a first arriving player: to stay on his feet, enter through the gate and not fall to the ground. Also, a penalty will be awarded against any pods of three or more players who are pre-bound before receiving the ball, while players will be penalised if they target or drop their weight onto the lower limbs of a jackler. A lot of these decisions will require sharp reactions from the referee, and the TMO may get involved with the clear and obvious ones.

inews.co.uk - What is the 50-22 kick rule in rugby? The new law explained and why it ...