World Rugby has discreetly revised the offside law which caused controversy in last year’s Test between England and the All Blacks at Twickenham.
According to The Times, the governing body has introduced a small revision to law 15.4, which governs offsides at the ruck.
This amendment rules that the offside line at a ruck will no longer be determined by the position of the hindmost foot of a teammate, but rather the hindmost point of any player from any team, which includes the head or arm.
The change comes after England flank Sam Underhill thought he had scored a potential winning try from a Courtney Lawes charge-down in their clash against New Zealand last year, which the All Blacks went on to win 16-15. However, the TMO ruled that Lawes was not behind the last man’s feet before he made a move to charge down All Blacks scrumhalf TJ Perenara’s clearance.
The law change will be in effect for the Six Nations, which kicks off on 1 February.
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