Australia to introduce new laws for Super Rugby AU

Rugby Australia has introduced new laws to be trialled in the upcoming Super Rugby AU competition that kicks-off on 3rd July.

Following the original Super Rugby competition cancelled due to the pandemic coronavirus, Australia and New Zealand have launched their own versions of a revamped domestic tournament involving their respective domestic clubs.

Like the rugby league, Super Rugby AU will also have dropouts taken from the tryline instead of the 22 to encourage more short attacking kick options near the line while the 40/20 kick rule has been tweaked to be a 50/22 and 22/50 eliminating the marks in the 22.

"We assembled some of the best minds in the game from a range of different roles to look at adding some new attacking dimensions to the game while at the same time sticking to some key principles to preserve the fabric of the sport," RA's director of rugby Scott Johnson said.

"The level of engagement was outstanding from the players and coaches involved in the process and we ended up with a set of law variations that were unanimously agreed upon by all 24 people involved.

Similar to the Super Rugby Aotearoa, the Australian competition will also have red-card players to be substituted in 20 minutes while there will be two five-minute period also known as Super Time to decide the winner if a match ends in a draw. The final change sees a player held up over the goal line will not be awarded a five-metre scrum and instead the defending team will restart the proceedings with a goal-line drop out.