When Alex Webber touched down for Pontypridd in a televised Welsh Premiership match against Llanelli in early September he created a piece of rugby history.

The Wales sevens player's early score at Parc y Scarlets was the first try to be awarded six points under new rules being trialled by World Rugby, and it was worth every single point.  

The winger cut a great angle to take an inside pass from his scrum-half just outside the opposition 22 before using his pace to swerve and step around two would-be tacklers for a try that George North would have been proud of.

Every four years World Rugby and its member unions review the existing laws to see of there are ways to improve the game from various perspectives, including player welfare. Basically, it’s a health-check of the game’s playing trends between Rugby World Cups.

From an entertainment point of view, the introduction of the six-point try had the desired effect from the off in west Wales, Ponty outscoring their hosts by nine tries to four to win 68-32. 

Better feedback

At the same time, Australia’s National Rugby Championship (NRC) also adopted the six-point try and this year it will take in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship, the European Nations Cup and World Rugby competitions such as the Pacific Challenge and the U20 Trophy.

“In the past they (the law trials) have gone to either Stellenbosch University or Cambridge University for trial behind closed doors. This time we have opened it up to any competition in the world that wants to trial them so we get better feedback,” Law Review Group (LRG) and Rugby Committee Chairman John Jeffrey told World Rugby TV.

“There is a whole host of different countries, which is great because we will get different feedback from different people and it covers all levels of the game.

“We have got to remember that these law changes aren't just for the games we watch on television, for the internationals or professional, this filters all the way down to club rugby and to mini rugby as well so it is important that all these considerations are taken into account.”

Referring to Australia’s NRC, Jeffrey admits the new points-scoring law trial took some time to bed in.

“To begin with there wasn't an increase in the number of tries being scored because people were happy to concede penalties and kill the game instead. The number of yellow cards, not tries, increased because we’d told the referees to be very, very strong on yellow cards. But once the players got used to it, they said, ‘hey, let’s go for it, let’s play a bit more rugby’.”

Having transformed Georgia from a set-piece orientated side into one that possesses dangers right across the park, the Lelos’ Kiwi head coach Milton Haig welcomes any moves designed to encourage attacking play

“From a playing perspective that is the type of rugby most rugby players want to play, no matter what country you come from, whether it is New Zealand, Australia or Georgia, it doesn’t matter. Coincidentally it is the type of rugby most fans want to watch.”

  • A try will be worth six points (eight for a penalty try)
  • A conversion will be worth two points
  • A penalty will be worth two points
  • A drop goal will be worth two points

A fair challenge

World Rugby hope that by awarding a straight eight points for a penalty try, it will act as a deterrent against cynical play. With no need to take a conversion ball-in-play time should also be increased.

A high percentage of penalty tries are currently being awarded when the defending team illegally sacks a rolling maul near to their own try-line. Changes have been introduced to hopefully counter this and make the maul a fairer contest.

"Estuvimos mucho tiempo discutiendo el maul porque es una herramienta de ataque vital, legal o ilegal, para la mayoría de los equipos"

John Jeffrey, Presidente del World Rugby's Law Review Group

“We have spent a long time discussing the maul because it is a vital attacking tool to most teams, legally or otherwise. At the moment a lot of players will get into a maul and slide to the back with the ball instead of passing it back, which is actually illegal. If a player slides back, he is touching players without being bound and is therefore offside.”

Romania’s veteran coach Lynn Howells concurs with this clampdown. “I think that will stop a lot of movement, of obstruction. You have an opportunity to challenge for the ball when this (passing back) is happening. I think that will be a good law.”

The approval of the package of law trials by the World Rugby Executive Committee back in September, followed detailed analysis and evaluation of union submissions by the LRG, Scrum Steering Group (SSG) and the Multi-Disciplinary Injury Prevention Group (MDIPG) over a five-month period.

One of the more radical proposals was to give the defending team the option of a five-metre drop-out instead of a five-metre scrum if the attacking team knocks on in the in-goal area and the ball goes dead.

“If you’re a team that likes to run the ball and have a small pack, there is no advantage from the opposition making a mistake. So they are going to be given the option of having a drop-out from the five-metre line. It is probably one of the more radical ones so it will be very interesting to see how that trial goes," Jeffrey said.

Check out the full list of law trials here, as well as learning which of them will be trialled in which competitions.

Timeframe for law review cycle 2015-18:

1. Early 2015: Call for suggested amendments
2. Mid-2015: LRG reviews suggestions made by unions/regional associations
3. September 2015: Rugby Committee meets to discuss proposals
4. Early 2016: Initial trials are conducted in relevant competitions
5. Mid-2016: Initial trials are reviewed by LRG
6. October 2016: Initial trials are reviewed by Rugby Committee
7. November 2016: Global trials (if appropriate) are approved by World Rugby Council
8. January 2017: Any such global trials start in southern hemisphere and August 2017 in northern hemisphere
9. June 2018: Any global trials are reviewed by LRG
10. October 2018: Recommendations are made to Rugby Committee
11. November 2018: Council confirms law amendments (if appropriate) at a special meeting and the law is changed accordingly