New Zealand Rugby to trial golden point and red-card replacement in Super Rugby Aotearoa

New Zealand Rugby will be having a trial of a golden point and replacements for red-card sent-off in their upcoming Aotearoa Super Rugby competition that kicks-off on 13th June.

The tournament that is set to run for 10 rounds without any spectators and will have the five domestic Super Rugby teams of New Zealand involved as they aim to revive the sport following the pandemic cornavirus crisis.

According to the new rule, a player who was red-carded can be replaced in 20 minutes but the sent-off player not allowed to return to the field for the remainder of the game.

Meanwhile, the golden point applies when the game ends in a tie as the first team to score a point through a drop goal or a penalty kick or a try in a span of 10 minutes will be declared the winner.

New Zealand Rugby’s head of professional rugby Chris Lendrum feels the new rules will add excitement to the game.

“While players should, and still will be, punished for foul play, red cards can sometimes have too much of an effect on a match,” he said.

“There are no winners when a player is red carded, but paying rugby fans, players and coaches want to see a fair contest. Replacing a player after 20 minutes strikes the right balance.

“Draws can often leave everyone feeling a little empty and after feedback from our coaches and players we have added the golden point rule,” Lendrum said.

“We’ve seen the excitement it can generate in other codes and we think it adds a real edge.”