Rush knows rugby is at a crossroads

Rugby's crossroads: Rush knows world rugby is facing a potential split

With the ELVs taking off in the southern hemisphere Cardiff Blues skipper Xavier Rush believes that rugby is at a crossroads.

No decision has been made yet as to whether the ELVs will be implemented worldwide, but with northern hemisphere figures such as Francis Baron (RFU Chief Executive) nervous to trial them their future is hanging in the balance.

Rush, who played in the southern hemisphere under the traditional rules, realises that the changes are making for a more 'viewer-friendly' game.

"We've got half the world playing one game and the other half playing another game," the All Black number eight told The Western Mail.

"It's hard to know what rules we are going to be playing in the future or where it's all going.

"You are watching one set of rules in the Super 14 and a totally different set of rules in the Six Nations and Heineken Cup.

"Any penalisable offence in ruck and maul is just a free-kick now in the southern hemisphere, which means the game is a whole lot quicker down there than it is up here at the moment.

"There's a lot of free-kicks and not many line-outs because there are virtually no penalties, so people aren't kicking for touch.

"The ball-in-play time in a game is 38 minutes, whereas we are at about 25 minutes.

"So it's a lot more about fitness and skill, rather than power.

"I'd have to lose about 5kgs to play under the new rules!"

Having watched a dour World Cup, dominated by kicking, Rush believes that there is some need for change, but is still finding it difficult to get used to watching two different sets of rules.

On top of that, Wales head to South Africa in June expecting to play under the traditional laws, leaving the Springboks to adapt back from the ELVs to the old laws.

"As a showpiece of international rugby, I thought the final of the World Cup was quite disappointing, so maybe there was a need to spice up the game," Rush said.

"But I just think it's a bit bizarre we've got one hemisphere playing one game and another hemisphere playing another game at the moment.

"If Wales have to play the new rules in the autumn, it's going to be a bit of a disadvantage because the southern hemisphere has had six months to get used to them and play them."

In contrast to this, Francis Baron is of the opinion that there is little wrong with the game in the northern hemisphere, and went as far as to say he would be nervous to change too much at once.

"I think it is fair to say there is a stronger felling in the north that there is nothing fundamentally wrong the game, and there is a nervousness about trying to change too many things at once," Baron told The Daily Telegraph.

"That is a slightly different view to the southern hemisphere, who feel that change is required and they want to press on and get it implemented.

"There is a concern about some of the ELVs as a matter of principle, there is a concern they could change the shape and nature of the game.

"I think everybody is naturally nervous about going down a route until you have had a season's worth of trial."

The view held by Baron, as well as many others in the northern hemisphere, could well hold off any global implementation of the ELVs.

His main concern, and it is a valid one, is that such is the nature of the northern hemisphere's season that no one competition runs from start to finish without games in other competitions. So it would be almost impossible to trial the laws, as it would be traditional laws one week, then a few weeks of ELVs and then back to the old laws.

The concern from the southern hemisphere is that the rules will not be implemented in time for the 2011 World Cup. For that to happen they need to be implemented, worldwide, two years prior to the tournament starting. The fear then being that if they do not get IRB approval two years before the World Cup they will be lost forever.

"All our competitions are running in the same window, so you can't isolate one competition and say 'that competition is going to trial ELVs'. That's the difficulty we have in the north, that they don't have in the south," Baron added.

"I guess we are all a bit nervous we are running out of time to complete that programme before the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2011."