/ 23 April 1999

IRB to adopt Super 12 discipline laws

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Friday 6.00pm.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) on Friday said it will adopt disciplinary procedures from the Super 12 and Tri-Nations after the World Cup in October.

This will be part of a major rewrite of the game’s regulations that be implemented when the world championships end in November – even though the new laws will be issued to unions for implementation on September 1.

These include the continuation of sin-binning for professional fouls and dangerous play as is being experimented with by Australia, England, France, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and Wales.

Other regulation changes relate to financial compensation for player development when a player changes clubs and to the availability of players for international duty.

The announcement came after the annual meeting of the board’s executive council in Argentina, which discussed wide-ranging aspects of the game.

The board said it will expand its membership by five to 89 with the admission of Cameroon, Colombia, India, Peru and the Pacific island of Niue.

It also agreed to establish an annual international World Sevens competition as soon as possible. – Reuters.