Respected former Test referee Nigel Owens has revealed the law he would get rid of immediately, which he claims “has not brought anything positive to the game”.

Respected former Test referee Nigel Owens has revealed the law he would get rid of immediately, which he claims “has not brought anything positive to the game”.

World Rugby continue to tinker with the sport in an attempt to make it more viewer friendly, with the Welshman in favour of some of them but not others.

One of those which Owens believes has negatively impacted rugby union is the goal line drop-out.

It usually occurs when the ball is touched down by the defending team after it has been kicked beyond the tryline, but it will also be awarded if an attacker has been held up over the whitewash.

‘I would get rid of it tomorrow’

“I’m wary of changes being made just for the sake of increasing ball-in-play time,” Owens wrote in his WalesOnline column, which is a metric that has also been questioned by Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus.

“Just look at the goal line drop-out. To me, that is a total disaster and I would get rid of it tomorrow if I was in charge. It hasn’t brought anything positive to the game, you’re not seeing any less driving mauls or pick-and-gos.

“It has only brought negativity in the sense that the defence can throw bodies underneath a player and if they don’t ground the ball, the defending team gets the drop out. It is a total punishment for the attacking team.

“Even though it’s hugely important that rugby is a fair contest for both teams, when it comes to try scoring, the benefit of the doubt should always go to the attacking side.

“Look for a reason to give the try, rather than a reason not to, which seems to be the case these days with the endless TMO referrals.”

Owens is also unhappy about World Rugby’s seeming insistence on lessening the importance of the scrum following their amendment that prevents the set-piece when a free-kick has been awarded.

It is one which has angered Springboks fans, who have accused the governing body of purposefully trying to take away a key strength of the back-to-back Rugby World Cup winners.

“The same can be said for depowering the scrum. Nobody wants to see a scrum-fest, granted, but they are an important part of the game and we never see scrum fives anymore,” Owens wrote.

“Having a team that is strong at scrummaging and can push the other team back only adds to the excitement of a game.

Earlier this week it was reported that the British and Irish Lions board is considering a proposal for sudden-death extra time to be introduced, in the event that a deciding third Test against Australia this summer finishes in a draw,” he added.

“That change would see the first team to score in ‘golden point’ extra time win the match and it’s something that I think would prove to be hugely exciting if it came about.

“It is a bit of a disappointment when something as hotly anticipated as a Lions tour ends in a draw, so bringing in that bit of jeopardy and excitement to settle it can only be a good thing, in my opinion.”