Law Application Guidelines

Following the World Rugby Council meeting in May 2022, a number of law changes have been approved. These all come into force for the whole game on 1 July 2022.

The five current Global Law Trials – Goal Line Drop-out, 50:22, jackler protection, banning pre-bound pods in open play (flying wedge) and approving a single latcher – will become full law.

There are two new Global Law Trials

• Brake foot - At the scrum, hookers must have a brake foot in place during “Crouch” and “Bind” phases, and is removed on “Set”. This is to reduce the axial loading on the hookers
• Water carriers – In order to reduce the frequency of water carriers coming onto the field, and to sanction poor behaviour by non-players, new restrictions on medics and water carriers have been introduced.

These will become Global Law Trials until at least the end of 2023. There are also several minor amends to law that have arisen from previous clarifications.

The wordings will change on the digital laws content from 1 July 2022.

Download the changes document

The TMO protocol has also been updated.