World Rugby have approved a request for a new trial which will see a major change to the number of points scored for a try in certain situations.

The request was made by Rugby Australia and the new rules will apply to matches involving the Western Force this season. Of course, the Force are no longer in Super Rugby but they are playing a number of fixtures against representative sides from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Hong Kong between May and August.

The new rule is that a team which scores a try from their own 22 will be automatically awarded seven points and a successful conversion could make it nine points. The try from a side’s own 22 must be an unopposed move i.e. there can’t be any penalties, dispossession, scrums, lineouts etc.

Here is the explanation from World Rugby.

When a try is scored from play initiated from within the try scoring team’s own 22m and there is no break in continuity of possession by the scoring team, the try is awarded seven points (not five points). A conversion attempt would follow (making nine points total).

If possession changes or a penalty, lineout or scrum is awarded, then this breaks the sequence of possession for the try scoring team and a normal five-point try would be earned.

The trial will not be considered as part of the current package of global law trials that will be considered by Council for adoption into law at its annual meeting in May.

Essentially, it is a special one-off trial but there will be a review following the series to determine whether it was successful or not.

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