Wynne Gray: Good could come from rules mess

Wynne Gray

The International Rugby Board's latest conduct should shock them into a never again mantra.

While decisions on the experimental laws split the hemispheres, there was more unity later when members agreed they could not continue to run the global game on such an ad hoc basis. When they stood back and surveyed what had occurred in the past five years they acknowledged the mess.

It had been arrogantly daft for the Six Nations to come to the meeting, to debate the merits of a new frontier for the game, without trialling the bulk of the ELVs. More than five years of thought, experiment and talk, were canned because of the intransigent attitude of a block of countries. Apparently they decided the best method to judge proposed law changes was to watch videos of matches being played in the Southern Hemisphere before they chose to

veto all but the most cosmetic alterations. What a waste and what an absurdly superior stance to take after agreeing to trial the ELVs.

The whole episode has stirred up the IRB and it is understood the executive council which runs the game has vowed there cannot be a repeat. Even the Six Nations members conceded the experiment had been flawed because there was no global acceptance of the trial laws.

They were also left wondering whether the decision to leave current international coaches like Graham Henry, Robbie Deans, Martin Johnson, Warren Gatland and co off the laws project group had backfired.

They might also have asked whether it would have been more productive to gather the best referees in the world to rewrite the law book, certainly one they could administer.

While the 5m space behind the scrums was about the meatiest law change to get the thumbs up, it was the discussion after the meeting which may have the biggest impact on rugby's global future.

There were enough whispered conversations, shamed looks, mumbled promises and even blood-letting for members to see they had made a right ruck-up of the whole business. When the IRB agreed to trial the ELVs, every nation should have bought into that experiment instead of some nations. That was the nonsense.

The message to the head honchos at the IRB was unequivocal. Govern the sport, lead the game, get one universal lawbook and get on with it. The rest was left unsaid. In a perverse way the shambles about the ELVs may bring a unity of purpose to the IRB. It may sting them into concerted action which is not to be confused with uniform judgment. They need it otherwise the game may sink into more jeopardy than they want to acknowledge.