Former Test referees Jaco Peyper and Mathieu Raynal have spoken out against the Super Rugby Pacific law trials for 2026.
The Sanzaar tournament has confirmed it will trial five law modifications this season, designed to reduce stoppages, encourage positive play and simplify officiating.
Among the law trials is a move to award free-kicks instead of scrums for accidental offsides – a change many see as another step towards depowering the scrum – and delayed ball release at the ruck, while no additional players from the attacking team may join a ruck once a referee has called “use it”.
Peyper, now working as a law adviser within the Springbok coaching setup, raised concerns about the practical impact of some of the changes during a recent appearance on the Rassie+ podcast.
“The intention here is to keep the game dynamic,” Peyper said. “That’s what I think, but with a free-kick replacing accidental offsides, if you don’t use the ball within five seconds at the caterpillar ruck or the box-kick, give a free-kick and take the scrum away, in my experience in refereeing, if you give a free-kick to the team that’s not in possession, it slows down the game because there needs to be a transfer between this team and that team.
“That means that they’re not going to have the quick tap option, they’re probably going to wait to organise their team and kick an up and under. So, there are a lot of people calling for less kicks. With this, we are most likely going to add kicks, unless the free kick is given to the team that has possession.”
ALSO: Rassie & Co defend aerial contest against critics
Raynal, now head of refereeing high performance at the French Rugby Federation, echoed concerns from a northern hemisphere viewpoint.
“They want more passing, more tries, less time spent in mauls and scrums, whereas we defend these specific elements and are against directions being set by the southern hemisphere,” Raynal said on Sud Radio.
“Our [Top 14] championship works. Our stadiums are full, rugby is more watched than football in the country. We don’t want to follow directions coming from countries where stadiums are empty, where they are trying to recreate spectacle at any cost, even if it means sacrificing fairness and the principle of player safety.”
AFRICA PICKS: Six Nations preview – contenders, questions and betting angles
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
The post Peyper raises red flag over law trials appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
