Saw that particular new law in action on the weekend Welsh derby between the Blues and O's. Martyn Williams (who else!) used it to good effect in one obvious turnover.
I understand these changes in the rucks to some extent, they're trying to create more of a battle at the breakdown, where turnovers happen more often. This in itself could result in more tries being scored, as turnover ball is the best to attack off of. At the same time however, successive phases is important (especially in the modern game) to break down defenses. Without successive quick ball, most teams find it difficult to score tries. With the introduction of this law alongside others, like how picky referees are to players going off their feet, many teams are finding it difficult to clear the ruck effectively.
I personally believe that the 'going off your feet' rule has been overdone since the IRB asking ref's to keep a closer eye on it (although some refs are better than others). If players go off their feet to kill the ball then fine, penalise them. But when a player accidently goes off his feet(because the player he was rucking offered no resistance etc.), I don't think that's a penalty offence if it doesn't disrupt the presentation of the ball. It's almost criminal for refs to blow when an attacking team get's panalised for such a thing, it stops the flow of the game!
Anyone else got any views on this minor change? On it's own it's a good change, not so sure when in conjunction with other rules.
