by Borthwick may not have given Friday’s announcement too much thought, but he would have been within his rights to subject her to thorough cross-examination.
Essentially, the Premiership players Borthwick selects in November will play with three new laws that are not commonplace in the top flight of English rugby, against New Zealand, the greatest rugby nation in the world, whose All Blacks have been playing since They have adapted to the changes over the last six months after narrowly beating England in back-to-back Tests in July.
When you boil it down to its essence, no one in their right mind could even come close to claiming that this is fair. It may not make any difference to the outcome, but that’s not the point. The point is that it could make a difference to the outcome and that perception – whether true or false – is a bad reflection for rugby union.
These court cases are not the most significant that World Rugby has introduced, but again the lack of joined-up thinking in the sport is glaring. The governing body’s hands are tied to some extent – there is clearly a desire among certain parties in the southern hemisphere to push through these amendments quickly – but the timing is unfortunate.
The question is: could there have been a better time? Probably next April, but that may be too long a wait for certain unions as they face pressure from interest groups to ensure the rugby spectacle is as attractive and compelling as it can be now. And they could not have been introduced into northern hemisphere club sport at the start of the season because France and Ireland publicly contested parts of it.
