An IRB conference has recommended the law allowing mauls to be pulled down should be thrown out. They have also rejected the ELV allowing teams to select as many players as they want in the lineout. See club news.

THE maul’s place at the heart of rugby union looks set to be preserved following a meeting of nearly 60 senior rugby stakeholders.
The International Rugby Board conference – which featured coaches, referees, administrators and representatives from all the major unions – was called to discuss the global impact of experimental law variations (ELVs) currently being trialled.
After two days of detailed review, including statistics from over 800 matches in 15 different countries, a total of 10 ELVs were recommended to be passed into full law.
But the two most controversial ELVs were not ratified.
The conference recommended the law allowing mauls to be pulled down should be thrown out.
And the sanctions ELV which sees most offences penalised with a free-kick, currently being trialled in the southern hemisphere, has been sent away for further review.
The committee also rejected the ELV allowing teams to select as many players as they want in the lineout.
Recommended ELVs include a five-metre off-side line at the scrum and the pass-back rule, which prevents players from making any ground with a kick to touch if the ball has been played back into their own 22.
The conference was not a decision-making forum but was designed to help the IRB’s rugby committee finalise their own list of ELV recommendations to put before the full IRB council on May 13th.