Rugby will look a little different next season after World Rugby announced a number of law trials designed to make the game safer.

However, the introduction of a group of ‘Independent Concussion Consultants’, not affiliated to teams, is the biggest change introduced over night in a move designed to monitor the graduated return to play process.

The consultants will be available to teams on an ongoing basis, but their use will be mandatory in some instances.

Previously, the return to play process was managed by teams but now a player who has suffered a confirmed concussion and wants to return within 10 days of the injury must seek approval from the consultants before playing.

Likewise, teams will need permission to play a player from the consultants if they have been concussed in the last three months, if they’ve had two or more concussions in the last 12 months and if they’ve had five or more concussions since they started to play rugby.

“We have successfully operated a programme of Independent Concussion Consultants at previous Rugby World Cups, providing an invaluable resource for team doctors when there have been tight turnaround times between matches, or where team doctors have sought support in their decision-making on return to play,” Dr Eanna Falvey, World Rugby’s chief medical officer, said.

“Our commitment to expand this initiative across the elite game, making leading experts available for all competitions, is another major step forward in our player welfare commitment.

“It completely recognises and supports the need to ensure an individualised player approach based on risk, rather than an arbitrary stand down time.”

World Rugby has come in for criticism for the speed at which players can return to play after suffering a head injury.

This move appears to come into line with current practice in Ireland, where Johnny Sexton, Caelan Doris and James Ryan have all taken time out of the game in recent months in an attempt to manage their brain injuries.

The issue is a burning topic in the sport, especially since a group of players including World Cup-winning England hooker Steve Thompson launched a legal action as a result of their injuries.

Under pressure to protect players and working under a stated ambition to be a world leader in player welfare, the governing body will implement the 50:22 kick and the goal-line drop-out for the entirety of the season as a year-long law trial.

Referees will also be on the look-out to stop players pre-binding to add weight to collisions, punishing players who drop their weight on the ‘jackler’ at ther ruck and tightening the laws relating to latching – the tactic that sees one player bind on to another before carrying into contact.

The decision was taken by a high-powered committee that included former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt and IRFU performance director David Nucifora.

The 50:22 law was trialled in Super Rugby AU last year and rewards accurate kicking by handing a player who accurately delivers a kick to touch from inside his or her own half into the opposition ’22 with a bounce before crossing the touchline. That player’s team will get the throw-in.

In theory, the threat of such a kick will force defensive teams to have less players in their front-line and create space for the attacking side.

The goal-line drop-out is more familiar to fans of the Irish provinces after it was trialled in the Rainbow Cup at the end of last season.

World Rugby has also vowed to improve it after care for retired players, while it will review whether the women’s game is best served by having the exact same set of laws as the men or whether it needs to adapt to the specific needs of the women’s game.

“Law review is fundamental to a sport that is constantly evolving and at the heart of our aspiration to make rugby as safe and accessible as possible,” Schmidt said.

“This process has been truly collaborative, bringing together coaching, playing, officiating, law and medical experts to consider the future playing of the sport.

“I would like to thank everyone involved to date, including the specialist Breakdown Review Group, and look forward to seeing the trials in operation on a global basis from August.”

World Rugby’s action plan is based around six principal commitments:

• A focus on former players: advancing best practice in care, information, education and support for former players struggling or concerned about their health.
• Innovation led by science and research: doubling investment in player welfare, including working with a wide range of scientific institutions to continue to research and advance our understanding of the impact of head injury. World Rugby will continue to bring together a variety of scientific perspectives on concussion in sport to learn from each development in the science and focusing investment into concussion and head impact in rugby studies in particular. This means further targeted investment in research and technology to improve player safety and optimise Head Injury Assessments and the application of the Graduated Return to Play protocols.
• Continue to review and evolve the Laws of the game to safeguard players: the two initiatives announced today – global law trials and the introduction of Independent Concussion Consultants – are the first of a series of actions planned in this area. This includes a dedicated focus on a more flexible approach at community level as well as a global forum on the game later this year, and acting on the outcomes of the ground-breaking study by the University of Otago in New Zealand to make any required adjustments at the community and under-age levels. The following working groups will continue to monitor their respective specialist areas: Head Contact Process, Breakdown, TMO, Scrum and Community law.
• A dedicated focus on the women’s game: recognising both the growth potential and unique nature of women’s rugby. Measures will include dedicated research investment across community and elite women’s rugby and women’s game specific law reviews.
• Continued investment in education: World Rugby will strengthen the provision of information, tools and resources to everyone involved in the game when it comes to head impacts and player welfare. This will include a new Recognise and Remove head injury education programme and App, a best-practice safe tackle technique programme for the whole game, and rollout of the Activate injury prevention warm-up programme with proven concussion and injury prevention benefits across all unions and regions.
• Open engagement with the rugby family: In partnership with unions, World Rugby will consult widely and deeply across the community and professional game, for men’s and women’s rugby. Where this means embracing non-traditional channels and platforms to reach rugby fans and players, we will do so.

World Rugby’s Welfare-focused law trials approved for global trial

• 50:22: This law trial is intended to create space via a tactical choice for players to drop out of the defensive line in order to prevent their opponents from kicking for touch, reducing impact of defensive line speed – operational in Super Rugby AU
• Goal-line drop out: This law trial is intended to reduce the number of scrums, reward good defence, encourage counter-attacking and increase the rate of ball in play – operational in Super Rugby AU, Super Rugby Aotearoa, Super Rugby Trans-Tasman and the Rainbow Cup
• Welfare-focused breakdown law amendments approved for global trial
• Pre-bound pods of players: Outlawing the practice of pods of three or more players being pre-bound prior to receiving the ball – the sanction will be a penalty kick
• Sanctioning the lower limb clear-out: Penalising players who target/drop their weight onto the lower limbs of a jackler – the sanction will be a penalty kick
• Tightening law relating to latching: One-player latch to be permitted, but this player has the same responsibilities as a first arriving player (i.e. must stay on feet, enter through gate and not fall to floor) – the sanction will be a penalty kick
• Sevens law trials
• The Group approved a two-year extension of the trial whereby a team may nominate and use up to five replacements (this is in addition to substitutions to cover HIA, blood, injury or foul play incidents). The substitutions can be made on a rolling basis. In the event of extra-time, a sixth replacement can also be utilised
• The Group recommended to Council that in-goal assistant referees will no longer be permitted where there is a TMO present at a competition