August 2008

On 1st May 2008 the iRB Council decided to trial a number of Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) in the Northern Hemisphere in the 2008/2009 season.

The ELVs relating to the playing of the game cover the corner flags, taking the ball into your own 22, pulling down the maul and the offside lines at the scrum.

The ELVs will apply to Elite (including international matches played in the Northern Hemisphere) and Community Rugby. The Laws of the Game, unless specifically amended by the ELVs, remain unaltered.

The RFU has set up an Implementation Task Group, Chaired by Chris Cuthbertson (Council Representative for Middlesex) with representation from the Elite and Community Refereeing and Coaching Departments, to help all levels of the game implement the ELVs and to monitor their effect.

Meetings will be held around the Country, before the start of the new season, to which all Clubs and referees will be invited.  The purpose of these meetings is to explain the ELVs and their likely effect on the game.  Details of these meetings are available here.

You can find a summary of the iRB ELVs by clicking here for web version or by clicking here for the downloadable pdf

You can find a full guide of the iRB ELVs by clicking here for web version or by clicking here for the downloadable pdf

You can find the results of the Experimental Law Variations RFU survey by clicking here

You can download the iRB guide to the Experimental Law Variations PDF by clicking here

You can see a series of Frequently Asked Questions online by clicking here

Please click here to download Experimental Law Variations Ruling 2.
Please click here to download Experimental Law Variations Ruling 3.

Please click here to download Experimental Law Variations Statistics.

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