USA head coach Scott Lawrence offers fascinating insight into new rugby laws

USA head coach Scott Lawrence has been tasked with rebuilding the Eagles following the disappointment of missing out on the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Fortunately for the Eagles, few people are better placed to lead the team than Lawrence, who has his finger on the pulse of the game at all levels in the USA.

Ahead of his team’s top-of-Pool B clash with Japan in round three of the Pacific Nations Cup, Lawrence was asked about the new law variations being implemented by World Rugby.

Clearly designed to ensure the quality of the product on the pitch remains at its best, the changes have been interesting, especially in terms of how teams have approached them.

Speaking about how his team is adapting to the changes around the scrum, Lawrence was asked how he and his team can communicate with match officials to ensure they remain on the right side of the law.

“I think they’re open to any discussion as long as it’s done in a certain way.” Lawrence said before explaining that the interpretations of the laws are an ever-evolving process, “The big thing is the law variations and changes. It’s kind of like shifting a car; it redlines at first, so they go all the way to the extreme, and then they realise, ‘Okay, wait a minute, there’s a middle ground here’ and you’re seeing that happening in test rugby right now.”

This explains that despite the best intentions of lawmakers, it takes time for the perfect solution to be found.

“They’re trying to improve the speed of the game through the law variation, so they adjust. For example, the maul. It was originally started with one call of ‘use it’, and then it’s a turnover.

“Well, that just created more scrums, so now the referees are adjusting and saying one stop, two stop, and then using it. This is a different sort of language that encourages that dominance.

“From our perspective, we’ve been watching the games closely regarding how the referees interpret because that’s then being fed back through the referee community, and we’re adjusting more.

“So we’re not working as much on the referees about it as we are learning about where they’re coming from and adjusting to the new laws.”

What have you made of the new law variations? Given the quality of matches in recent times, it does appear as though teams have taken them in their stride. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on social media.