in the original from stuff.co there's nothing about "cheating" or "to police the opposition" (it's "policing the offside") so WTF are you talking about?
here's the whole article coz I think it's interesting and it could be appliedvery soon, in 2017:
Two referees will officiate together during New Zealand's national
provincial championship next year as part of a World Rugby trial of
proposed rule changes.
The second on-field official will mainly be
used to rule on a new offside line that will be moved one metre back
from a redefined ruck, where the confusing "gate" will be ditched and
the rights of the tackler reduced.
New Zealand Rugby wasn't
planning to unveil the proposed rule changes until early next year, but
they are widely known after provincial unions sounded out clubs across
the country about whether or not they wanted their premier competitions
to trial the rules in order to prepare players for the representative
season.
Tweaks of the rules had been signalled with All Blacks
coach Steve Hansen among the most vocal in saying the game needs to be
easier to play, watch and referee, but the move to using two referees as
is the case in the National Rugby League is a bold move.
NRL bosses introduced the concept in 2009 and some referees believe
it will provide a major improvement in keeping ever creeping defensive
players on side. They also believed getting rid of the imaginary "gate"
through which players can legally enter the breakdown will make things
easier for officials.
It remains unclear exactly what duties each
of the on-field referees would have, but is assumed the secondary
official would primarily be charged with policing the offside. In league
there is a "lead ref" who does the bulk of officiating from the
defensive side, though in international matches there is still only one
on-field official.
Dual referees aside, the most drastic change to
be trialled during New Zealand's newly named Mitre 10 Cup will be at
the tackle and ruck respectively.
Under current law a ruck is
formed when one player from each team are on their feet, in physical
contact, over the ball. The trial will see the word "ruck" replaced by
"breakdown", which would be formed when just one attacking player was
over the ball on the ground. Once a breakdown is formed, no player from
either side will be able to make a play for the ball with their hands,
but in the absence of a "gate" would be able to enter the breakdown from
any angle as long as they have come from an onside position.
That
will see an end to the familiar call of "from the side" with the hope
there are less penalties and less confusion about which players are
legally trying to enter the most frequent phase of the game.
Essentially defenders will only be able to make a play for the ball
if they swoop in, à la Wallabies loose forward David Pocock, before the
first arriving attacker can turn the tackle into a breakdown.
Tackler's
rights will also be reduced from 360 degrees to 180 degrees, bunting
the effectiveness of players like All Blacks openside Richie McCaw, who
in his prime made an art form of stealing the ball in the same act as
effecting a tackle. With the requirement to get back one metre before
returning to the breakdown, tacklers will essentially have only one
choice, which will be to roll away.
Law makers are hopeful
defences will see opportunity in counter rucking in numbers as opposed
to getting their hands on the ball, but coaches spoken to by
Stuff believed the rule changes would favour the attacking side by
making it difficult to effect a steal at the tackle with defences simply
fanning out to form a defensive wall.
Similar dynamics were at
play in in Super Rugby during the early 2000s when the Brumbies, under
coach Eddie Jones, perfected the art of building pressure through
holding the ball through countless phases in order to break down picket
fence defensive lines.
There is potential for the new laws, but
not the two referees, to be trialled in New Zealand's premier club rugby
grade in 2016. Provinces across the country are currently asking their
clubs for feedback, although World Rugby would then have to sign off on
any changes below the national provincial championship.
The drive
for change has been driven by World Rugby who sought feedback from
around the globe before ratifying the trials, which will not be
restricted to New Zealand.
Hansen has been vocal about his desire
to see changes to simplify the breakdown and create time and space for
teams to attack, while Chiefs coach Dave Rennie took part in World
Rugby's review process in March this year as a member of a Laws
Representation Group.
That group presented recommendations to
World Rugby in October and following next year's trials any approved
changes would come into force in January 2017 in the southern hemisphere
and in August that year for the northern hemisphere.
AT A GLANCE
Proposed World Rugby law changes:
1 Two on-field referees
2 Removal of the 'gate' entry at the breakdown
3 Tackler and arriving players can enter from midpoint of breakdown as long as they come from an onside position
4 Tackler no longer has 360 degree rights to the ball
4 Offside lines one metre behind hindmost foot at breakdown
- Stuff
