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Bill Beaumont, the World Rugby chairman, is backing the introduction of a trial law that would mean a return to replacements being used only for cover for injured players, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

The move is designed to improve player welfare by potentially reducing the intensity and impact of the physical collisions in the professional game.

Beaumont, who has announced his intention to stand for another four years as chairman, is concerned that the use of eight replacements for tactical reasons has turned the game into one increasingly dominated by “big people... and big hits”.

Beaumont, the former Rugby Football Union chairman who captained England to the 1980 Grand Slam, is keen to protect the game’s tradition of being a “game for all shapes and sizes” and is supporting a review of the use of replacements in conjunction with medical evidence.

Beaumont believes a return to the pre-1996 law, when replacements could be used only for verified injuries, could lead to a change in the body shape of professional players, create more space for attacking rugby and reduce the number of tackles, which is the cause of 50 per cent of injuries.