Owens: Time to stop tinkering with the rules

One of world’s top rugby referees, Nigel Owens, believes the time for tinkering with rules associated with the sport must stop, while the Welsh whistler also said too much interference from the TMO could lead to rugby becoming more like soccer.

Speaking on 2FM’s GameOn sports show last night Owens said, in relation to more possible rule changes, “I don’t think they are needed, take for example the Ireland v New Zealand game in the October international in Dublin or the New Zealand South Africa game in Ellis Park and some of the other games in the Heineken, the RaboDirect and the Six Nations. Those games will tell you when teams go out to be positive and play rugby, there’s not much wrong with the laws and you must ask yourself ‘why are we considering change?’. Rugby has gone through a lot of changes in the last decade, I don’t think you can tinker anymore because, when you change one law, it has an add-on effect other phases.

“There’s always challenges to try and improve the game, to make it more for the non-rugby traditional supporter,” he continued “A true rugby supporter can go watch a game and the score can be 10-9 and it’s a damn good game, but if you’re not a true rugby supporter you might see nothing exciting about that game, so rugby can definitely improve but it’s down to the attitude of players and teams (as much as officials and law-makers).

Owens also said he fears the sport could end up in “soccer land” if the TMO is given too much authority. “I think technology has its place in rugby and it’s important that it’s there because what we all want is to get the big calls right or as many as possible. But there’s not a place in rugby for technology to be overused, as it is being at the moment and being disruptive. If you’re going to go down the route of asking a referee to check this and check that we’re going to end up in soccer land and I don’t think anyone wants that. It has its place but I do agree its being overused and the protocol needs to be looked at, to have it a part of rugby but not overused.”