I assume that you want to change to the points system so that you see a game with more emphasis on rewarding tries with big points and kicks with less. I tend to agree with this and so far my argument has been to reduce penalties to 2 points, i.e. a team need 4 penalties to class back the 7 points lost by a converted try. However, the down side to this is that sides might score a try and then feel that they can give away 3 penalties before it really costs them.
Another idea I have had, is to get rid of the open and blindside flankers, reducing teams to 13. This would open up the pitch more and you won't see as many instances with backs involved in the breakdown area being replaced by forwards in the "back line".
The one thing that I feel is currently out of control, is the handling of the ball in a ruck situation. The part that says a player can play the ball only if he is on his feet, is so open to abuse that it has now got to the stage where it is starting to spoil the game. This was the case so much over the weekend in the SCO/ENG and IRE/WAL games. The ball was so slow coming back out of the rucks sometimes that it was almost embarrassingly obvious that players were up to no good and yet the ref can do nothing. Also, people "fringing" the rucks are not being penalised enough for being back far enough. I may be wrong, but aren't they supposed to be behind the last "limb" of the ruck ? There were far too many instances where this was so clearly not the case and again it resulted in "slow ball".
Apparently there are trials in South Africa going on where the ruck simply "disappears" !! Well, that is my interpretation - what is actually being said is that players will be able to use their hands in a ruck situation, meaning now that the ruck goes and is replaced completely by the maul even when the player is on the floor. Supposedly, this new rule could be introduced in 2007.
