McCaw notes laws back-track

http://allblacks.com/index.cfm?layout=displayNews&newsarticle=11749
Sportal.co.nz - (28/11/2009)

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has noted with interest the emerging attitudes in England, especially, that critics may have been too hasty in their criticism of the ELVs.

As the game has been hamstrung and turned into a kicking dominated contest, with confusion still reigning at the breakdown, the chairman of the Rugby Football Union, Martyn Thomas has asked the International Rugby Board to look at the tackled ball laws to simplify the breakdown and to help promote attacking rugby.

When the experiments were turned into full law only 10 were adopted, and missing was the sanctions choice which punished offences with a free-kick and not a penalty.

And the only full penalty infringements at the tackle area were: foul play, offside play and not entering through the notional gate.

Rugby.com reported McCaw's response to the England stance in Marseille as:
"They figured it out, huh?
"The fact they're saying that now, at least they're acknowledging that but I think we're locked in for the next couple of years, but I guess over the next two years some thought has to be put into what's going to help.
"The free-kick kept the game flowing and infringements didn't actually stop the game as it does now with penalties.
"Teams defend and there's still going to be a contest at the breakdown. I think teams are pretty good at that now. There's always going to be a fight."

McCaw acknowledged that the one-off nature of Tests in the Northern Hemisphere autumn meant there was less chance of flowing rugby because teams tended to be more conservative.