I'm convinced that the benefits would be seen almost instantly if we cut the bench in half so that there are four substitutes, instead of eight. The game needs shaking up and that's a decent shake-up. We would see more skill, more fitness, and more tries. It challenges everyone to raise their attacking game, and takes away the biggest contributor in weighting the modern game in favour of defence.
Gatland argued recently that South Africa's 'bomb-squad' bench which now features seven forwards and just one back - was not what the replacements law was introduced to do, because their strategy means that now your forwards only have to play for 40 minutes.
Rugby union used to be about trying to fatigue the opposition forwards to the extent that gaps appeared in defences and led to more attacking opportunities. Now, with coaches being able to change over half a team through replacements, who come on the pitch bursting with energy, while those who been on from the kick-off are tiring, it is stacked heavily in favour of defence.
Cutting the number of replacements is a contentious subject, with many pros and cons. If I'm South Africa I don't want anything to change, because we're dominating world rugby - and the power of our bench has helped to secure two World Cup titles in succession.
If I'm New Zealand I have always believed that we have the biggest number of skilled players of any nation, and we are keen to utilise our depth of players with great skill-sets against teams of lesser ability. For instance, our fifth-choice blindside would probably get in the England team, and it would be the same at scrum-half, centre, and wing.
So, my guess is that South Africa and New Zealand will probably want to retain the current status quo of eight replacements.
Denne historien er fra January 07, 2024-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra January 07, 2024-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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