"The matches tied with a gold point, the possibility of replacing players after a red card and increased attention to the conquest areas are some of the innovations that fans will notice at kickoff" from the competition called Super Rugby Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand). Organized until August 16, this championship sees five franchise franchises in round-trip matches, ie eight days in total.
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“We want this competition to look and be different. We have received the support of coaches, players and referees to make the tournament more exciting, faster but also safer than ever, "said the New Zealand Rugby Federation in a statement. Clearly, in the event of a draw after 80 minutes of regular time, the two teams are separated by a gold point.
Sudden death system
It is the system of sudden death, especially used in ice hockey or in American football. Thus, the first team to register a point, by a try, a drop or a penalty, in an extension of 10 minutes, wins the match and the four points of victory. The team beaten in this context can still recover a bonus point if they have scored at least three more tries than their opponent, in regular time and in overtime.
A player excluded by a red card may, in addition, be replaced by another player twenty minutes after leaving the field. The player at fault will obviously not be able to resume the match. Finally, the referees will have a close eye on the conquest areas to allow faster play. "We are not changing the rules of the game, we are stricter about how we apply them," said the Federation, which wants to prevent players from crawling after being tackled.
"Optional and temporary" measures
The tackler will have to move away to the touchline to make the game smoother and provide more space for the attackers. Last week, World Rugby announced that it would recommend ten experimental changes to its rules, "designed to help member federations reduce the risk of transmitting Covid-19, if necessary." These “optional and temporary” measures, specifies the authority, aim to limit contact between players and “would reduce the time of exposure to a risk of transmission by more than 30% in melee, up to 25% in a ruck and up to 50% in a maul ”.
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