East Lothian Courier


Clubs forced to scrum down to new rules
Print Article THE county�s top rugby clubs face controversial new rugby rules for the first time, at the annual Preston Lodge 10s at The Pennypit next Saturday.

Haddington, Musselburgh and the home side will have their first taste of the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) at the August 2 tournament.

ELVs are being trialled in the northern hemisphere for 12 months. Thirteen of the 23 ELVs currently in use in the southern hemisphere will be introduced. They include:

Players defending a maul by pulling it down;

An offside line five metres behind the back of the scrum; and,

No restriction on the number of players who can participate in the lineout from either side (minimum of two).

A further seven ELVs have been referred back to the International Rugby Board�s laws group for more analysis.

The ELVs were partially tested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in this year�s Super 14 competition, but some northern hemisphere unions have expressed reservations.

Although the SRU has backed the proposals, English RFU chief executive Francis Baron and others have expressed concerns.

PL vice-president Johnston Craig is looking forward to seeing the new laws in action in next Saturday�s 10s competition.

He said: �If previous years are anything to go by, next Saturday should be brilliant entertainment for everyone.

�Playing to the new laws will only add to the excitement and it will be interesting to see how the players react and how they affect the games.�

Last year�s winners Haddington will be hoping for a repeat of the performance that saw them win the tournament in style without conceding a point in the pool stages.

However, they are sure to face a sterner test this year in the form of Premier 1 side Glasgow Hawks. The other teams in Pool 1 are Murrayfield Wanderers and Trinity Accies.

Craig is excited by the calibre of teams that are playing in this year�s competition.

He said: �We are really pleased to have a top-class side like Glasgow Hawks taking part.

�Haddington played some fantastic rugby last year and we are hoping to see the same sort of rugby this year.

�I spoke to some people from Haddington recently and they were raving about the tournament last year. That�s how much it means to the teams that take part.�

Craig�s PL will play in Pool 2 along with county rivals Musselburgh, and Edinburgh University. The pool is completed by another prestigious side in the shape of The Pigbarians � a charity invitation rugby team formed by Jimmy �The Pig� Michie.

Michie is a popular figure in Scottish Rugby and his side, which is made up of players from Watsonians, Dundee HSFP and Heriot�s, play to raise money for charity.

Craig is hopeful that a large crowd will turn out and see at first hand the work being done by the Prestonpans outfit in building on the success of last season�s SHE Bowl final win in May.

He said: �It was such a great day at Murrayfield and it was fantastic to see all the people who supported the club on the day.

�We are working really hard to try and build on that success and are hoping to arrange a friendly in Oban as a team-bonding exercise.

�We are doing that because of the trip we had in the Bowl semi-final to Caithness a couple of months ago.

�It was a long way up there, but everyone said the trip was a great experience.�

In the close season, the club recruited Eddie Henderson as their backs coach. Henderson previously coached 2008 SHE Plate finalists Portobello and played for Gala and the South of Scotland.

This article was originally posted on 25-Jul-2008, 07:35 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 25-Jul-2008, 07:38.