ELVs - What Do They Mean For Us?

By Josh Hawken
August 1 2008

Well, the 1st of August is upon us, and so, after much debate, are the ELVs. There seems to be a lot of confusion remaining about which ELVs are being trialled and where. This article aims to provide an idiot-proof guide to exactly which ELVs are being used and what they mean.

Firstly and most importantly, all competitions Bath are involved in this year will be played under the same laws.

So, what exactly do each of these laws mean for us?

1. The Touch Judge

The Touch Judge is now to be known as the assistant referee and will now be able to help the Referee adjudicate all decisions on the field

2. Corner Flags

If the ball hits the corner flag from a kick, it is now considered to have gone into touch rather than being considered grounded in the in goal area. However, just to confuse matters, if the ball is grounded against the bottom of the corner post it is still considered touch in-goal leading to a 22 drop out.

3. The Lineout

This is one of the key areas of change:

- If the ball is passed back into the 22 and then kicked into touch, there is no gain of ground

- Quick throws no longer have to be straight as long as the ball is not passed forwards

- There is no longer any requirement to match the numbers in the lineout (though a minimum of 2 players must be committed)

- The receiver in a lineout must stand 2 metres from the line

- The opposing hooker may stand between touch and the 5m line but must be 2m from the hooker throwing in

And in reiteration of several things that already occur:

- Pre-gripping of jumpers by their lifters in the lineout is permitted

- Lifting of jumpers is permitted

4. The Maul

- A maul may be defended by the opposing team collapsing it without sanction

5. The Scrum

- All backs must be behind an offside line drawn 5m behind the back foot of the scrum

- The scrum half must be 5m back from the scrum unless he is in close proximity to it

As can be seen, there are no changes to any sanctions in the contact area - the 'license to infringe' present in the S14 is not being trialled anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere this season, so with the exception of pulling down the maul, all former penalty offences remain so. The changes with most effect seem to me to be those regarding the Maul, which can no longer be used to suck in forwards, the lineout, where the Tri-Nations has already shown that the numbers requirement allows the defending team to pack the lineout and close down the space offered to the fly half, and at the scrum, where the extra space for the attacking team allows for creative back divisions to execute some seriously well-drilled moves, and the inability to pass the ball back into the 22 to kick for territory, which I rather feel will lead to a lot of dreary aerial ping-pong.

How will this affect Bath? Given Steve Meehan's game plan, I think the extra space at the scrum will play into our hands, allowing even more creative backs moves to be executed off first phase possession. I think that our wealth of second rows will have to become very creative in the lineout to keep Butch away from the tailgunners from opposition lineouts and allow him the space and the options to control the game. The inability to kick directly to touch after passing back into the 22 rewards those teams with the ability to run the ball from their 22 or those tactical kickers able to find the space and touch on the bounce - given Bath's inclination to run through a few phases looking for a gap to break out from before kicking for touch I think this one will suit us - with fine back 3 runners like Maddock, Banahan and Abendanon we will have an opportunity to develop our open, attacking style and make a good push for further success this season.