World Rugby must act - ruck laws no longer fit for purpose

The Investec Champions Cup resumes this weekend with some eagerly anticipated contests between the giants of European rugby.

Former winners Ulster take on the gigantic challenge of hosting Toulouse, while Munster and Toulon will do battle in France.

Stade Francais are tasked with disrupting Leinster's 100% record in Europe, while Connacht will hope to bring their winning edge to Lyon.

Mixing the domestic competitions also means that the refereeing pool becomes larger, with URC, Top 14 and Premiership officials taking charge of teams from other nations.

The consequence of that could be varying perceptions around the laws of the game.

Those laws are already becoming difficult to understand and manage, and when you add influences from other unions into the mix, it becomes an area of the game that could swing a tie.

The Irish inter-provincial games brought enough controversy, with a number of long-term injuries resulting from collisions that could be interpreted as anything from 'highly dangerous’ to ‘rugby incidents’.

Munster backrower Jack O’ Donoghue is facing an extended period on the sideline as a result of an inaccurate action at the breakdown, while Connacht’s Mack Hansen was involved in a similar incident that went further under the radar before it was confirmed yesterday he will miss the Six Nations.

Munster prop Oli Jager left the field in a neck brace following a double tackle that he was sandwiched between those two incidents

Byron Ralston’s clear out on O’Donoghue illustrates, in my opinion, why the ruck laws are no longer fit for purpose. For clarity, I’ve stated publicly and still believe that there was no malice in Ralston’s actions. This is not a witch hunt on a player.

However, when a law is so vaguely written that