'Will it open up space?' - New law trials interest Bernard Jackman

A new calendar years brings with it new trial laws, four of which will be rolled out for the first time in top-tier northern hemisphere rugby in this weekend's Investec Champions and Challenge Cup games.

Designed to speed up the game, and reduce the amount of dead time on the clock, they have already been trialled in last year’s Rugby Championship, before being put forward for a global trial by the World Rugby Council in November.

To start with, there will now be greater protection given to scrum-halves at the ruck, maul and scrum. Defensive players who are part of rucks and mauls will no longer be able to reach through and grab the arm of a scrum-half as they attempt to play the ball.

Similarly, the defensive scrum-half at scrum time cannot advance any further than the mark of the tunnel, ensuring the attacking side can play cleanly if they retain possession. The sanction for each of those infringements will be a penalty

The 90-second shot-clock for conversions has now been reduced to 60 seconds, to match the time allocated for penalty kicks, the timing of which will be monitored by a countdown clock.

There will also be a time limit of 30 seconds for lineouts to be formed, matching the 30-second time limit for scrums formation. This, however, will be monitored by the referee rather than on a public clock, with a free-kick awarded for those who offend.

Perhaps the most interesting change is also around the lineout, where a crooked throw will only be called by the referee where the defending team contests the ball in the air.

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